Even the Best Architects & Engineers Make Mistakes

Tim Weir, CIC, MLIS

Assistant Vice President, Mid-Atlantic Team Leader

SHARE:

Architects & Engineers (A&E) coverage is a specialized Professional Liability form that is aimed at protecting architects and engineers for claims arising out of their professional services. At Apogee, we specialize in providing A&E policies that are customized for a wide range of construction professionals. These professional disciplines include:

  1. Aerospace Engineering
  2. Architecture
  3. Chemical Engineering
  4. Civil Engineering
  5. Construction Management
  6. Electrical Engineering
  7. Environmental Engineering
  8. General Contracting
  9. HVAC Contracting
  10. Interior Design
  11. Land Surveying
  12. Landscape Architecture
  13. Machine, equipment, and/or manufacturing
  14. Marine Engineering
  15. Nuclear Engineering
  16. Process Engineering
  17. Soil Engineering
  18. Structural Engineering

There are 3 main rating factors for rating an A&E policy. These are: 1) discipline; 2) revenues; 3) types of projects. At Apogee, we remember these 3 rating factors by asking the following questions:

  1. What are they doing? (discipline)
  2. How much are they doing? (revenue)
  3. Who are they doing it for? (projects)

A primary function of an A&E policy is to protect the insured for design mistakes. When you are determining whether your client needs A&E coverage, a simple test is to ask whether that insured is designing anything – a building, an HVAC system, and electrical system, an airplane – whatever!

Submitting an A&E account to Apogee is an easy process. Like any insurance quote submission, an expiring policy and loss runs are very helpful to securing the most competitive quote. In addition to these two standard items, we only need a new business A&E application. We have a versatile A&E app on our website, but we can work off of any application, provided that the 3 questions above are addressed.

The marketing process for a standard A&E account is anywhere from 1-5 days depending on the insured’s size and discipline. Apogee has a wide range of carriers that can fit just about any A&E risk that we receive. Some of our top A&E markets include: Hiscox, CFC, AIG, Beazley, Skyward, Argo, Admiral, Victor, Travelers, Ironshore, and Tokio Marine HCC. We have other markets available for more specialized risks and we can also work with specialized London brokers to access the Lloyds marketplace.

The team at Apogee can help you analyze the quotes that we receive to determine which quote best fits the needs of your client. Policies vary on the definition of wrongful act, who is an insured, and claims reporting procedures. We have some carriers that are able to extend additional insured coverage, which is something generally not possible on professional liability policies. There are also some A&E professionals that are involved in the actual construction of their buildings or products. These exposures must be taken into consideration and the insurance professionals at Apogee can help you provide the wide scope of coverage. Rectification cost coverage, deductible mediation credits, technology and cyber coverage, and pollution liability are also important policy features that must be considered.

Whether you are new to Professional Liability or have an established book of A&E business, Apogee hopes to partner with you so that you can bring the most expertise and customized coverage to your clients.

Questions? Email Me Here!