Professional Liability for Architects
Architects provide very important services to their clients. Your company is tasked with designing the building that your client will live or work in for potentially the rest of their lives. This is a big responsibility, and one that you do not take lightly. If you make a professional mistake as an architect it could bring physical harm, disability or death to any number of people at once. Architects professional liability insurance is a critical coverage your firm needs as protection when clients file lawsuits against you. Even if no bodily injuries arise from the mistakes, the clients could sue for property damages and losses instead.
Whether you actually make a professional mistake or not is beside the point. When clients sue your company, you may still suffer financially by providing your legal defenses and taking time off work to deal with the claims in court. Professional liability insurance, also known as Errors and Omissions (E&O), helps protect you from these types of losses. When clients make professional claims against your firm, your architects professional liability coverage will help protect you legally and financially.
For example, if your architect firm creates a blueprint for a new home and accidentally enters the wrong numbers for a load bearing wall, that home may be structurally unstable after it is built. If the home is declared uninhabitable by the building inspector, or it partially collapses, the owners may sue your company for the damages that your alleged mistakes. With architects professional liability insurance, you will not have to spend time, money and resources of your own to address these claims and settlements. Depending upon the scope of your errors and omissions policy, professional liability pays for your litigation costs, the client’s settlements or awards, and your income losses due to time off work while in the court room.