Professional indemnity insurance for architects is a condition of practising rather than a commercial choice. The registration and professional body requirements set minimum terms, and the exposures behind them are unusually long lived: a design defect can emerge many years after practical completion, long after the fee was banked and sometimes after the practice has closed.
The requirement
Architects registered in the United Kingdom are required to hold adequate and appropriate insurance covering themselves, their practice and their employees, and the professional body publishes guidance on what adequate means in practice. The obligation continues while there is exposure, which is why run off cover is treated as part of the requirement rather than as an optional extra.
Why the exposure is long
Construction defects surface over years, and limitation periods for claims arising from building work run long after completion. A practice insured on a claims made basis therefore needs continuous cover reaching back over the whole period it has been designing, which is what the retroactive date on the policy records.
What the cover answers for
Negligent design, specification errors, failure to advise, errors in certification and inspection, and the cost of defending any of it. Where a claim involves both design and workmanship, the architect's policy answers for the design half and the contractor's for the rest, which is why claims of this kind involve several insurers and take time.
Run off when a practice closes
A practice that shuts and cancels its policy leaves every project it ever designed uninsured against a future claim. Run off cover for a period after closure is the professional expectation and the practical necessity, and the cost of it belongs in any plan to wind a practice down.
Questions people ask about professional indemnity insurance for architects
Is professional indemnity compulsory for architects?
Registered architects are required to hold adequate and appropriate insurance, and the professional body publishes guidance on what that means.
How long do I need cover for after a project?
Longer than most people expect, because construction claims can arrive years after completion. Continuous cover with an unbroken retroactive date is what protects past work.
What is run off cover?
Cover continued after a practice stops trading, so claims about past work still find a live policy. It is generally expected rather than optional.
Who pays when both design and workmanship are at fault?
The architect's policy answers for the design element and the contractor's for the workmanship, which is why such claims involve several insurers.