The impact of PI insurance costs on architects
Premiums have risen on average by about 200%, but some architectural practices are being asked to pay as much as 10% of their revenue. Inevitably, these significant costs, along with coverage exclusions, are impacting the viability of architectural firms.
Naturally, architects are reluctant to take on projects with challenging characteristics if they can’t protect themselves with comprehensive and cost-effective architect professional indemnity insurance. The price of architect insurance, if exorbitant, influences the success of a bid. Architects can’t afford to absorb the imposed premium increases but when attempting to pass those down to the customer, they become uncompetitive. As a result of architects shy away from certain projects, which in turn stumps the profitability and growth of their practice.
What influences architect PI insurance cost?
There are several factors which insurers take into account before quoting a premium for your architectural practice:
- PI limit required
- Business annual turnover (or your income if you’re a sole trader)
- Previous claims
- Type of projects
- Your architect insurance provider
Architect PI policy limits
The higher the required limit, the higher the premium. Architects working on larger projects with higher coverage will experience an increased cost.
Business annual turnover
Your income from the insured activities is one of the main influencing factors. It tells the insurers how busy your practice is and indicates the size of your projects. Very often, architects with over £250,000 turnover cannot buy insurance online. They have to use a broker.
Your claims history
Your life will be particularly complicated when seeking insurance if you have suffered claims in the past. It usually means that switching insurers in search of a better deal is almost impossible. Not unless you can demonstrate a significant change in your work practices that eliminates the possibility of a similar claim.
Type of projects
Insurers are sensitive to certain industries and property types. The lists aren’t exhaustive but give you an idea of what concerns the insurers.
Industries:
- Manufacturing
- Energy and oil
- Civil engineering projects
- Airports, railways, roads, bridges, tunnels or dams
Project types:
- Basements
- Swimming pools
- Data centres
- Refrigeration
Your insurance broker
Architects are highly loyal to an insurance broker, but this loyalty doesn’t always pay off. Because architect insurance is rarely available online, most architects secure their business insurance through a broker.
However, brokers don’t have access to every insurer that offers architect insurance. Therefore, when you are quoted a price, it will come from one or two insurers with whom your broker has a relationship. In other words, the deal on offer will be the best your broker can secure but not necessarily the best deal the insurance industry can offer.
How can I keep my architect PI insurance cost down?
There are a number of steps that you can take to control the cost of your architect insurance. Some include reviewing the level of services offered, contract wording to ensure your liability is limited, or moving away from certain types of work. However, these types of adjustments are not always possible or easy.
On the other hand, there are a couple of steps that almost every architect can take when faced with a sudden premium increase:
Shop around
Especially when premiums are going up, you should absolutely think about looking online or engaging another broker. Unfortunately, often, your own broker will be the first to tell you that there is nothing better out there, hoping that you will accept it. They might be right, but without benchmarking with another insurance provider, you won’t know for sure.
Switch
Even if you’ve only just renewed or spotted a better price elsewhere mid-year, switching halfway through your insurance might be worthwhile. especially if you can realise a certain cost saving straightaway and possibly improve the extent of your cover.
What architect PI insurance cost can Suited offer?
Our prices start from around £20 a month. Your cost will depend on the limit you require and your annual turnover.
Suited has managed to negotiate a very attractive deal with a quality insurer for certain types of architects who:
- Work on domestic or commercial projects up to 3 storeys high
- Has had a clean claim history in the last 3 years
- Earn £1,000,000 or less annually
- Don’t work in certain industries (as above)
- Don’t design certain types of properties (as above)
What makes Suited PI insurance for architects different?
By focusing on a particular group of architects, we can offer PI insurance for architects that:
- Has fewer restrictions
- Offers better prices
- Is available online instantly
- Is backed by experienced UK-based A+ rated insurers
Getting an idea of price from Suited is a matter of seconds. Architects who have switched to Suited have all reported 15-20% saving on their premium.
