Professional Indemnity - Surveyors
Surveying is one of the more established professions and as such is regarded by the PI sector as a 'traditional' profession. All Chartered Surveyors are members of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
The RICS regulates and promotes the profession and provides other services such as information and guidance to its members, governments and the public. A separate professional body representing a smaller group of Surveyors, The Incorporated Society of Valuers and Auctioneers (ISVA) was in existence until recently but has now merged with the RICS. Not all Surveyors are members of the RICS, there are many Surveyors who operate outside this professional body and across a wide spectrum of activities.
Chartered Surveyors and technical Surveyors provide advice on aspects of land, property, construction and the associated environment issues. The profession is varied and many Surveyors specialise in one or more fields.
As a class overall, virtually no PI insurer has ever made money out of insuring Surveyors other than in the odd isolated year.
What do Insurers look for?
Insurers look closely at the level of valuations carried out by a Surveying practice. They look at the amount of valuation business, its location geographically, the average and highest values and the claims experience. Other areas of interest for insurers include:
- Contract sizes - There is a direct relationship between the size and complexity of the job and the exposure.
- Technology - Is the firm using 'cutting edge' technology or standard, tried and tested processes?
- Overseas exposure - Does the practice carry out work for overseas clients? Careful consideration would be paid to such work carried out for US or Canadian firms.
- Retroactive exposure - Does the practice have an exposure to claims arising from past work, whether in the current firm or a former practice?
- Environmental exposure - Does the firm knowingly get involved in the environmental field?