Professional liability insurance is an important form of protection for engineers who need to protect themselves against loss of rights and damage to their reputation. It provides financial protection and can help protect an engineer's career and practice against unexpected circumstances. It is, therefore, an important consideration for anyone who wants to have professional security.
As a professional engineer, the most important thing for your career is to ensure that you are adequately protected against any legal or reputational damage that may arise. Professional liability insurance offers this protection and can help protect your career and practice against unexpected circumstances. In this article we will explain in detail the risks and benefits of professional liability insurance and why this form of coverage should not be forgotten.
Professional liability insurance (also known as errors and omissions insurance) is a type of liability insurance that protects businesses against claims from customers, clients or suppliers based on losses arising from litigation relating to services provided by the business.
The scope of professional liability insurance can vary greatly. Some policies are very broad and cover all negligent acts committed by an employee during their employment, while other policies are very narrow in scope and only provide protection for acts committed by a company during the performance of a specific project.
Most professional liability insurance policies do not protect you from claims you may face in the course of your role. They generally only offer protection if you are acting on behalf of your company.
Areas covered by professional liability insurance
The following areas are covered by professional liability insurance. However, we need to be aware of these areas as the insurer providing the cover would be at risk if we do not cover ourselves.
- Professional responsibility
You can make design mistakes. This is not intentional. However, this may result in errors or additional costs for the customer. If you are insured for this, you may be able to claim these costs from your insurer.
- Loss of project documents or data
Ensuring the project meets deadlines is your responsibility and you will be held accountable.
- Loss of property or money
- Accidental breach of confidentiality
- Accidental copyright infringement
There may be other areas that need to be addressed in professional practice. Professional liability insurance is to protect serious professional practice and not to take pride in professional misconduct.
Do we need professional liability insurance?
The answer is yes.
It is always advisable to purchase insurance that covers the above requirements. However, the work we are doing must also be taken into account.
As there is a cost to purchasing this insurance and the amount we spend is a problem, we may not purchase insurance for all jobs. Depending on the type of work and the risk associated with the specific job, a decision can be made whether or not insurance is necessary.
Furthermore, the amount covered by insurance will always be a concern. The more money we spend, the more coverage we can get. Therefore, we must be smart when purchasing this insurance.
Where can we get insurance
It is available from the insurance company. May not be issued by all insurance companies. It is a special policy that is slightly different from other insurance coverage.
Sinus is a different policy with different terms and conditions, you are unlikely to get it from every insurer. You can check all the companies and choose the one with the most coverage and the lowest rate.
