You don’t want the insurance limits to be so large as to make your firm a target; on the other hand, you don’t want to go so low that the policy limits are exhausted by even a modest claim, putting the viability of your firm at risk. How can you determine your appropriate limit? Greyling can walk you through the process of deciding appropriate limits to make sure you have the coverage you need without overpaying.

Frequently, the project owner will specify required limits in the prime project contract. If you find that your firm’s limits are consistently lower than the limits required by your projects, you should likely be purchasing higher limits across the board.

If this is more of an occasional issue, you have two primary options: 1. You can increase your practice policy limits to meet the contract requirements. 2. You can purchase a “SALE” (a specific additional limits endorsement) or an “SPX” (a specific project excess endorsement) that applies to the specific project. If you find this is an issue faced by your firm, call Greyling to assist you in determining the best course of action.

What scope of services does your firm offer? Are you “plain vanilla,” or “rocky road”? Do you offer services outside of what an underwriter typically expects from an engineer? While most engineers’ operations fit well within the scope of professional services covered by their Professional Liability Insurance policies, if your firm is offering non-traditional services they may not be covered. Particularly in this economy, some may be looking to expand their scope of services as an additional source of revenue. Whether your firm has already ventured beyond the norm or is just now looking to do so, it’s important to be sure your Professional Liability Insurance coverage is broad enough to cover all the components of your business model.

PLI policies are based on the applications for coverage. The applications are sufficiently generic enough to be used by many different types of firms with services that may not all be quite the same. To be sure the underwriter really understands what your firm does and what its coverage needs are, it is important to provide a description of any unique or different services in a supplement to the application.

If your firm is providing anything beyond typical engineering services, be sure to describe in detail the types of services being performed and confirm that your quotation from your insurer specifically addresses whether it includes coverage for all of your services.