Design and Construct Professional Indemnity Insurance can be relevant to construction businesses that provide professional services or accept responsibility for design-related work.

Examples can include:

• Design and construct contractors
• Builders accepting responsibility for design
• Civil contractors
• Electrical contractors
• Mechanical contractors
• Fit-out contractors
• Installation contractors
• Project managers
• Construction managers
• Fabricators or manufacturers involved in design
• Businesses engaging external architects, engineers or consultants where responsibility remains with the contractor

Does outsourcing design remove the exposure? #

Not necessarily.

A construction contract can make a builder or head contractor responsible for design work even where the work is performed by an external consultant.

The exposure therefore depends on the contractual responsibilities, not simply on who physically prepared the design.

What else should be considered? #

Relevant factors can include:

• Project types
• Project values
• Professional services provided
• Design performed internally
• Design outsourced to consultants
• Consultant qualifications and insurance
• Contractual liabilities
• Required Professional Indemnity limits
• Required run-off periods

Contractual insurance requirements should be reviewed before entering into the contract where possible.

Contact our team if you are unsure whether your construction activities create a Design and Construct Professional Indemnity exposure.