Engineering Insurance | Professional Liability Insurance for Engineers
Engineers play a crucial role ensuring the planning, design and implementation of a project goes to plan. Your client’s depend on your professional advice and while you can do everything in your power to ensure a successful project, there’s always risk involved beyond your control. To protect your clients, your business and yourself, it’s important to put the right professional liability insurance in place.
Engineering insurance is designed to protect engineering professionals against the unique risks associated with providing their services including negligence, errors & omissions and third party incidents. At Roughley Insurance, our dedicated engineers team includes former engineers who understand your need for great coverage at the right price.
Types of Engineering Liability Insurance Offered
Professional Liability Insurance
Professional Liability Insurance, also called Errors and Omissions (E&O) provides coverage for negligence, misconduct or the failure to provide a service as advertised. Your client could sue if they feel as though your professional advice or service wasn’t up to their expectations or suffered financial losses as a result of your advice.
E&O insurance is particularly important in engineering, with endless scenarios resulting in potential E&O exposures. Some scenarios include a negligent error, act or omission, misrepresentation, intellectual property infringement, breach of confidentiality, delays, loss of documents or failure to deliver due to a third party.
Professional liability insurance will cover your legal expenses including defense costs regardless of if the allegation is true or false, settlements, and awards up to your policy limit.
Commercial General Liability (CGL) Insurance
Commercial general liability Insurance is the basic bedrock coverage for businesses of any type protecting against day-to-day risks such as a slip and fall. CGL Insurance not only covers the legal fees and damages but also responds to allegations regardless of the lawsuit outcome.
Cyber Liability Insurance
Cyber liability insurance has become essential for anyone who stores client information or confidential data. Cyber liability insurance protects engineering professionals from the financial consequences of data breaches, cyber-attacks, or other cyber incidents that may compromise sensitive information or disrupt business operations.
Based on your services you may also want to consider:
Equipment and Tools Insurance
Covers the cost of repairing or replacing essential equipment and tools used in engineering operations that are damaged or stolen. Surveying equipment, specialized mapping systems and other tools can be protected with this add-on coverage.
Pollution Liability Insurance
Pollution liability may be necessary for specific engineering disciplines such as industrial or chemical operations and provides coverage for third party liability bodily injury, environmental damage or property damage. Damage can be due to sudden or gradual pollution events which occur on a job site, potentially covering civil penalties, fines, clean-up or emergency response costs.
Why Engineers Need Insurance
Engineering insurance is not only a prudent risk management tool, but is often contractually required by contract and/or law. Professional engineers are held to a higher standard of care defined by the Courts as “the duty to exercise the degree of learning and skill ordinarily possessed by a reputable design professional practicing in the same or similar locality and under the same circumstances.”
With the average cost of a claim for engineers in Ontario exceeding $110,000, not having adequate coverage to resolve disputes can not only be financially crippling but can have a negative impact on business relationships, goodwill and productivity.
Protection Against Financial Loss
Engineers face inherent risks in their profession, including the potential for costly lawsuits, claims, or damages resulting from errors, omissions, or accidents. Engineering Insurance provides financial protection against these risks, covering legal expenses, compensation payments, and other associated costs. Over 60% of engineering claim costs in Ontario are solely attributed to defence costs.
Safeguarding Reputation and Credibility
Engineering is a business built on trust and relationships. Maintaining robust insurance coverage demonstrates a commitment to professionalism and accountability, enhancing the reputation and credibility of engineers and their firms. Clients and project stakeholders are more likely to trust and engage with engineers with adequate insurance protection.
Peace of Mind for Clients and Stakeholders
Clients, partners, and other stakeholders often require assurance that engineers have appropriate insurance coverage to mitigate potential risks and liabilities associated with their projects. Insurance provides peace of mind to clients and stakeholders, instilling confidence in the reliability and integrity of engineering services.
Customizable Coverage Options
Our dedicated engineering team includes former engineers on staff to ensure your practice is adequately covered for the types of services you provide. We work closely with you to understand your practice’s requirements based on the types and sizes of projects you typically undertake. Our experienced brokers understand the importance of balancing best-in-class coverage with affordability. Experience the difference of working with a team that cares deeply about engineering today.
Benefits of Choosing Roughley Insurance Brokers
Expertise in engineering insurance
With a dedicated engineers support group and former engineers on staff, our team of insurance professionals has in-depth knowledge and experience in providing insurance solutions tailored to the needs of engineers and engineering firms.
Personalized service
We take the time to understand our client’s specific requirements and tailor insurance policies to address their unique risks and concerns.
Relationships with leading insurers, fiercely independent: As an independent insurance broker, we have access to a wide range of insurance markets and can negotiate competitive rates and comprehensive coverage on behalf of our clients.
Value-added services not typical to most brokerages
With a breadth of knowledge in the engineering space, our team offers in-house risk management sessions, advisories, contract review support, claim assistance and more.
Some Factors Influencing Engineering Insurance Costs
Depending on the firm size and areas of practice, professional liability insurance can be the third largest expenditure for design consultants after rent and salaries. At Roughley Insurance we understand the need for excellent coverage at an affordable rate.
How to Reach Roughley Insurance Brokers for Inquiries and Consultations
Contact us today to schedule a consultation with one of our experienced insurance professionals and learn how Roughley Insurance Brokers can help protect your engineering business with tailored insurance solutions.
Getting in touch is easy! You can either fill out our quick and easy online application to get started or reach out directly to our office at (905) 576-7770 and ask for engineering insurance.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you don’t find the answers you’re looking for here, please feel free to contact us any time for more information.
Will my insurance policy cover all phases of the engineering project?
Yes. You’ll generally be covered during all project phases, but discussing the specifics with your broker is recommended.
Does my policy cover engineers in training?
Yes, engineers-in-training are also covered under your policy. Note that the policy limit typically applies to all employees, not each individual.
Do you offer policies for one-time projects?
Yes, we offer project policies in addition to practice policies. A project policy covers one specific project that is described/defined in the policy, providing insurance for the design team which can include multiple firms. These policies have dedicated limits and can span multiple years covering construction and maintenance.
Does Engineering Insurance cover all types of engineers?
Yes. Engineering Insurance provides comprehensive coverage for various engineering professionals. Our brokers will work with you to understand your specific risks and ensure you have appropriate coverage.
Process of Obtaining Engineering Insurance
Engineering insurance is more than just professional liability insurance. Our commercial business insurance options allow you to be fully protected against any unforeseen event. Here’s how you can start your coverage:
Initial Consultation and Assessment
The insurance process begins with an initial consultation with one of our experienced brokers on our engineering support team who will assess your needs based on your unique practice. Bringing knowledge of best-in-class coverage and procedures, we work closely with you to identify potential risks. Typically the time commitment is 1 hour with a site visit recommended at no cost to you.
Policy Customization and Coverage Selection
Based on our assessments, we provide recommendations for coverages and work with you to select adequate limits for your practice. We tailor coverages to account for potential gaps in insurance, ensuring adequate limits and coverages are suggested.
Marketing on Your Behalf & Payment Options
Our team engages with our expansive network of leading insurers to obtain quotes on your behalf, matching you to the right insurer at the best rate available. Upon acceptance of the quote, we offer flexible payment options to accommodate our clients’ budget and cash flow requirements.
Policy Issuance, Documentation and Support
Upon acceptance of the insurance proposal and payment set-up, Roughley Insurance Brokers will issue the insurance policy and provide all necessary documentation, including policy terms and conditions, coverage details and a breakdown of the support team contact information. Your support team is there to help you with all your insurance needs, from issuing certificates to risk mitigation advice, claims support and more.