Professional Indemnity insurance is a specialist type of insurance designed to protect professionals who give advice as part of their service. It will protect them from any financial risk associated with a lawsuit and maintain their business stability and reputation in the event of a claim against them.
The professional body for surveyors, the Royal Institute for Chartered Surveyors (RICS), requires all RICS-regulated firms to have adequate and appropriate professional indemnity insurance policies in place under the requirements of their Rules of Conduct for Surveyors.
Why does a surveyor need professional indemnity insurance?
- Protection against errors and omissions — mistakes or incorrect advice resulting in financial loss for clients
- Client requirements — often a condition of issuing any contract
- Legal defence costs — covers legal fees, lawyer costs and court costs even for unfounded claims
- Regulatory compliance — often required by the professional body to practice
What happens without the correct level of cover?
Surveyors are personally responsible for any compensation payments, legal fees or costs made against them — potentially running into millions for large projects. Beyond the financial strain, a claim can damage professional reputation and loss of client confidence.
What should a policy cover for a typical surveyor practice?
- Coverage amount — adequate limit for the scale and nature of projects
- Scope of coverage — relevant activities and services included
- Exclusions and limitations — know the circumstances not covered
- Retroactive cover — protects against claims arising before the policy was in place, especially important for a first policy
- Geographical coverage — relevant for surveyors working internationally
- Regulatory compliance — professional body requirements
Likely claims a PI policy would need to cover
Incorrect property valuation, boundary disputes, structural survey errors, planning permission errors, environmental assessments, negligent advice, failure to adhere to regulations, missed deadlines, survey report errors, professional misconduct.
How to choose the correct level of cover
This depends on the nature of surveying work, client profile, and level of risk involved — speaking to a PI expert helps determine the right level.
Jamie Underwood is Associate Director at Eggar Forrester Insurance, with more than 15 years' experience offering Professional Indemnity for clients in the UK and abroad. He also provides PI, Directors & Officers (D&O), Crime and other covers to the financial sector.