Austin Architect Professional Insurance

There are no guarantees in life and we, as professionals, must be prepared for any and all mishaps. The Risk Specialty Group professional liability insurance for architects in Austin is specifically designed to cover your specific needs and budget. Our experienced agents seek to understand your business goals and practices and develop the right Austin architect professional liability insurance plan for you and company.

Why Would I Want Professional Insurance for Architects in Austin?

While you may think that any work-related incidents may be covered under a general policy, you might be surprised when your coverage fails to protect you against uniquely specific career field related issues. Have you ever considered how you would pay for:

  • A client filing claims against your business for not completing a job on time
  • Receiving a complaint stating your work was inadequate or failed to meet specifications
  • Someone seeking compensation due to claims of errors in your calculations or work

The Risk Specialty Group Austin architect liability insurance includes an Errors & Omissions coverage that could provide compensation for both costs and settlements.

What is covered under professional liability insurance?

Professional Liability (Errors & Omissions) insurance covers you during times a client or 3rd party demands services or money for an alleged wrongful act (or mistake) by you or your firm.  Typical demands covered under professional liability insurance can include:

  • An actual lawsuit from a client claiming your service or design contained an error or omission that has now created Bodily Injury, Property Damage and/or Financial Loss
  • A lawsuit from a 3rd party claiming Bodily Injury, Property Damage and/or Financial Loss from either your mistake or a project you worked on
  • A nasty email (or letter) from a client asking you to fix a costly mistake

As you can see, Professional Liability is meant to protect a professional in the performance of their professional services.  Professional services can include, but are not limited to:

  • Architects & Engineers
  • Surveyors
  • Environmental Consultants
  • Accountants
  • Lawyers
  • Doctors & Dentists
  • Real Estate Agents & Appraisers
  • Health Care Professionals

Many Professional Liability policies only cover economic or financial losses of third parties. This is fine for many professionals like business consultants, real estate agents or accountants. However, professionals like architects and engineers require bodily injury (BI) and property damage (PD) coverage to be included due to the nature of their services.

Some carriers are now starting to include Cyber & Network Liability as a part of their policy to help provide some coverage for firms in delivering their services digitally.

Understanding the differences in coverage between the various policy forms of carriers can be complicated. We have access to over twenty (20) professional liability carriers that have tailored policies for design professionals and consultants.

What does professional liability cost?

Professional Liability can cost anywhere from $700 per year to 5% of your Gross Revenues depending on what type of Professional Liability policy you want and the Services you provide.

There are so many different insurance carriers offering Professional Liability these days and there can be serious differences between what is covered under each carrier’s policy that it makes comparing policies a bit complicated.

However, we can help you decipher the differences between the various policies by giving you clear choices based on your desired coverage and price point.

What is the difference between professional and general liability insurance?

In short, Professional Liability (errors & omissions) covers you for your Professional negligence.  General Liability covers you for claims involving Non-Professional negligence.

Professional negligence are claims dealing with your consulting, services or design work as an accountant, lawyer, engineer, etc.

Non-Professional negligence are claims dealing with your premises or business operations.  An example is a client slipping-and-falling at your office.  It was during business operations, but did not involve the delivery of your professional services.

EX:  An architect designing a house is in need of Professional Liability to protect them for their design work.  However, the general contractor that is building the house is in need of General Liability.

There are often other misunderstandings between Professional Liability and General Liability insurance, which can be seen in contracts or agreements between you and your clients. Many times, agreements will include requirements that are appropriate for General Liability, such as naming your client as an “additional insured”, but are not appropriate or unavailable under the Professional Liability policy. This is why it is invaluable to have an experienced insurance agent on your team that can review your agreements in a timely manner and represents your best interests.

Another area of confusion between Professional Liability and General Liability is in how claims are reported. Most General Liability policies are written on an “occurrence” basis. Coverage on an occurrence policy is determined by the date that the situation giving rise to the claim occurred. Not when the claim is reported with the carrier.

Professional Liability policies are written on a “claims-made” basis. This difference is significant. Under a claims-made policy, the availability of coverage is determined by the date that a claim is first reported. Below is an example on which carrier responds under the different policy types:

Claims-Made—A new claim is filed in 2019 while XYZ Insurance Company’s policy is in effect. Therefore, XYZ Insurance Company would respond to the claim even if the insured was with a different insurance carrier back in 2015 when the event leading to the claim occurred.

Occurrence—The event leading to the claim occurred in 2015 while ABC Insurance Company’s policy was in effect. Thus, ABC Insurance Company’s would respond to the claim even though the insured is currently covered by XYZ Insurance Company when the claim is filed in 2019.

Learn more about the difference between General and Professional Liability.

Do I need professional liability?

The need for Professional Liability (E&O) is created by the type of services you are providing.  Depending on the type of services you are providing, there is usually not a legal requirement to carry Professional Liability.  The need is typically driven by either:

  • Your desire to protect yourself and your firm
  • Contractual requirements with a client

Many people may argue that purchasing Professional Liability just puts a “target” on your back for lawsuits.  And this may be true in a small number of cases.  But eventually, you get to a point in your career and in the maturation of your firm that you are not willing to chance it.  Protecting your firm becomes important to you and your employees to know they are covered in the event of a mistake, or just getting roped into a bad situation because you are involved in the same project.

If you are interested in learning more about how Professional Liability can protect you during a claim, feel free to Contact Us.

What is the purpose of professional liability?

The purpose of Professional Liability (E&O) is to provide you with protection from financial loss during a claim or lawsuit against you and/or your firm.  Protection includes:

  • Organization of the legal team to defend you in the lawsuit
  • Advice on “next steps” and what to do and what not to do
  • Claim and court expenses including expert witnesses
  • Reimbursement of lost earnin for depositions and court appearances
  • Payment on any damages awarded the claimant

All of these costs and expenses are within the policy limits and are subject to your Deductible.  It is important that you work with a Risk Management specialist to help you understand the various policies by giving you clear choices based on your desired coverage and price point.

Why is professional liability important?

Professional Liability is important because it can mean the difference between shutting down your business due to a costly claim and keeping your doors open because you have transferred the cost of the claim to the insurance carrier.

A second, and maybe less important, the reason is that there are times a client may require Professional Liability as a contractual requirement.

What does a general liability policy cover?

General Liability policies cover your business from claims involving Non-Professional negligence.  Non-Professional negligence includes claims of bodily injury (BI), property damage (PD) or financial loss arising out of premises, “general” business operations, products, and completed operations; and advertising and personal injury liability.  Some covered claim examples include:

  • A client slips-and-falls at your office
  • A toaster catches fire in your office kitchen causing $15,000 worth of property damage (PD) to your rented space
  • After a year of distributing new marketing brochures, a competitor sues you for $30,000 in copyright infringement
  • You’re a General Contractor and a client sues you for faulty workmanship on their bathroom remodel

Just as important as it is to understand what is covered under General Liability, it is just as important to understand what may not be covered, such as:

  • Cyber & Network Security claims
  • Patent Infringement
  • Employment-related claims (i.e. wrongful termination, discrimination, etc.)
  • Professional Services (i.e. engineering, surveying, accounting, real estate, etc.)
  • Employee theft
  • Damage to a rental car
  • Pollution Liability

Why is general liability so important?

General Liability policies cover your business from claims involving Non-Professional negligence.  Non-Professional negligence includes claims of bodily injury (BI), property damage (PD) or financial loss arising out of premises, “general” business operations, products, and completed operations; and advertising and personal injury liability.  Some covered claim examples include:

  • A client slips-and-falls at your office
  • A toaster catches fire in your office kitchen causing $15,000 worth of property damage (PD) to your rented space
  • After a year of distributing new marketing brochures, a competitor sues you for $30,000 in copyright infringement
  • You’re a General Contractor and a client sues you for faulty workmanship on their bathroom remodel

Just as important as it is to understand what is covered under General Liability, it is just as important to understand what may not be covered, such as:

  • Cyber & Network Security claims
  • Patent Infringement
  • Employment-related claims (i.e. wrongful termination, discrimination, etc.)
  • Professional Services (i.e. engineering, surveying, accounting, real estate, etc.)
  • Employee theft
  • Damage to a rental car
  • Pollution Liability

Custom Coverage at a Competitive Price

Many businesses view their insurance agent as a “vendor”. That is not us. We are a “guide” in helping you navigate the complex world of Insurance & Risk Management. Here are the 3 ways you can get started with us now:

Austin Architect Professional Insurance 1

Just a Quote

Already know what Insurance your company needs?  Fill out our applications to get a quote.

Austin Architect Professional Insurance 2

Conversation then a Quote

Unsure about what you really need?  Talk with one of our licensed Insurance Agents for advice and next steps.

Austin Architect Professional Insurance 3

Full 360° Review

Need a comprehensive review of your company’s exposures? Let one of our licensed Insurance and Risk Managers give you a free in-depth risk analysis.

What Our Clients Are Saying

Add Value to Your Insurance

One of the main reasons our clients turn to us for architect professional liability insurance in Austin is because we are just better with our customers. It is one thing to know you could save money by switching insurance agencies. It is another, when you realize we are able to treat each of our customers with an individualized care they won’t find anywhere else.

Ask for an Austin Architect Professional Liability Insurance Quote Now!

As an independent insurance agency, our main goal is to best represent our clients without pushing any particular products or carriers. Filling out an application for Austin architect professional liability insurance is quick and easy. If you have any questions about professional liability insurance for architects in Austin, just reach out to us. Make the right decision; let Risk Specialty Group be there to help.

Address

4801 Woodway, Suite 300E
Houston, TX 77056

Email

info@riskspecialtygroup.com

Fax

713-513-5411

Google Rating
5.0
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