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As a specialist insurer with over 25 years’ experience of insuring architects, we offer expert knowledge of the risks facing architectural professionals.
Ensuring you have the appropriate level of architect insurance is a worthwhile consideration. Our specialist insurance cover can be tailored to meet the insurance requirements of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), the Architects Registration Board (ARB) and the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologies (CIAT).
Cover at a glance:
- Specialist architect insurance to meet RIBA & CIAT requirements
- Flexible cover tailored to the needs of your business
- Safeguards your practice against errors, data breaches and more
What is architects insurance?
If your business faces an accusation of professional negligence, then you could face hefty costs in terms of legal fees and potential damages. It could be that you provided incorrect advice to a client that they then acted upon, which led to structural damage as a result. If so, professional indemnity insurance is the form of cover that you’d require in this situation.
Public liability insurance steps in to keep you covered should a member of the public suffer an injury or damage to their property as a result of your business activities. Pay-outs in such situations can be incredibly expensive, so it’s a form of insurance that you should give consideration.
Cover starting at
£5 a month*
*Price based on an architect requiring £1 million of public liability insurance
Do architects need insurance?
Regardless of the size of your practice, architects face a whole range of risks. An error in a building design, damage caused to a work site during a visit or a fire at your offices destroying thousands of pounds worth of computers could cause serious financial problems for your business.
Our specialist architect insurance can be tailored to the specific needs of your business, giving you the peace of mind that if something goes wrong, you are covered.
What insurance do architects need?
Architects insurance from Markel Direct provides a range of covers, from architects professional indemnity insurance and public liability insurance, to legal expenses insurance, that are created to protect against the risks architects most often experience. This includes:
An error in your work
Some calculations in your drawings are incorrect which causes errors in the build and delays to the construction. Your client takes legal action against you seeking compensation for the delay.
Property damage
An example of a public liability claim could be that you go to visit a client on site. While you’re there, you accidently knock a coffee over their laptop and the water damage stops it from working. Your client expects you to pay for the repair.
Data breach
You are the victim of a cybercrime which not only stops your business-critical device from working efficiently, but also leads to confidential client data being stolen. You have to report this personal data breach to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and pay damages to your client, as well as paying to have your own laptop fixed.
Example policy documents
If you have an existing policy with us, please sign in to view your policy documents.
Below you will find examples of the documents provided.
How to buy architects insurance
You can obtain a quote and buy architects insurance in minutes using our simple online quote system.
We’ll ask you a few questions about you and your business activities so that we can offer you covers which may be suitable for your specific business needs.
This means you can add on which covers you feel are most suitable - or you can choose to buy them all. The benefit of this is that you will only ever pay for the type and level of insurance you need.
Tailor your architecture insurance in minutes with these covers
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Professional indemnity insurance
Professional indemnity insurance covers the cost of defending your business against allegations of professional negligence (such as giving your client incorrect or wrongful advice) and if unsuccessful, the cost of damages awarded against you. This cover is mandatory for many architectural professions, and our PI insurance for architects is available with limits ranging from £100,000 to £5m.
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Public and product liability insurance
Public and product liability insurance covers the cost of defending your business (including damages awarded against you if unsuccessful) if someone is injured, or their property damaged, which arises from you going about your business or supplying products. The legal fees alone could cost your business thousands of pounds. If you regularly visit building sites, clients visit your offices or you come into contact with members of the public, you may need this cover. Limits range from £1m to £5m.
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Employer’s liability insurance
Employer’s liability insurance is a legal requirement if your business has employees. It covers your business against claims for injury or illness suffered by employees arising from their employment. If your architecture practice has employees, you need this cover. Cover for £10m.
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Legal expenses insurance
Commercial legal expenses insurance covers the costs of defending you as a director or officer of your company against allegations of wrongful acts and any damages subsequently awarded against you. Cover is also provided for the legal costs and expenses of defending actions for disqualification as a director, investigations and extradition proceedings. Limits range from £100,000 to £5m.
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Directors and officers insurance
Directors and officers insurance covers the costs of defending you as a director or officer of your company against allegations of wrongful acts and any damages subsequently awarded against you. Cover is also provided in respect of the legal costs and expenses of defending actions for disqualification as a director, investigations and extradition proceedings. Limits range from £100,000 to £5m.
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Office insurance
Office insurance covers your office buildings, office contents and computer equipment against accidental damage (including theft) whilst on your business premises. You can also choose to cover your business equipment (such as laptops and mobile phones) on a worldwide basis, and insure your business against loss of income and/or additional trading expenses following events such as damage to your property.
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Occupational personal accident insurance
Occupational personal accident insurance provides a weekly payment if you are unable to work due to temporary total disablement (subject to a 14-day deferment period) due to an accident at work, or when travelling to and from work. In the event of loss of limbs, sight, speech, hearing, permanent total disablement or death, a lump sum would be paid out. You should consider this cover if you would struggle to maintain an income following an accident that left you unable to work. Limits from £100/week to £500/week for temporary total disablement (£25k lump sum to £100k lump sum for permanent total disablement).
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Cyber and data risks insurance
Cyber insurance pays the costs of restoring data and equipment, informing clients, meeting ransom demands and loss of your net profit following a cyber-attack. It also pays your legal defence costs and damages you are legally liable to pay to other parties. If you hold confidential information about your clients and their projects on computers and other internet connected devices, you should consider to this cover.
How it works
Choose the cover you require
Get a quote you need in minutes
Buy online or contact one of our advisors
How much does architects insurance cost?
At Markel Direct, we offer architects insurance from £5 a month for £1 million worth of public liability cover*. When it comes to insurance, the cost varies from business to business depending on;
- The size of your business - your turnover and whether you have any employees
- The level of cover you choose
- The types of projects you work on and the equipment you use.
To get a clearer idea of how much you’ll pay, simply get a quote online.
Ready to build your quote?
Our simple quote process will help you to find the right business insurance for your individual needs.
Frequently asked questions
These frequently asked questions are designed to help you and include questions relating to policy cover, pricing and ‘technical’ terms.
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Do architects need professional indemnity insurance?
Professional indemnity insurance covers against allegations of professional negligence - which means it would cover you if you were to make an error or mistake in a piece of work (such as a project or report) for a client. Ensuring you have the appropriate cover in place is a worthwhile consideration.
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Do architects need public liability insurance?
Public liability insurance covers against allegations of injury or illness caused to third parties by your negligence. This includes many of the slips, trips and falls that are associated with personal injury claims. In addition, public liability insurance covers against damage to third party property - for example, if you were to damage a client-owned laptop or smartphone.
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I need to arrange insurance to start work - do you provide proof of cover?
Yes. We provide a dedicated 'Confirmation of Liability Insurance' document (detailing the cover you have with us) as part of the documents that are emailed to you if you purchase your policy with us. You can present this document to agencies and clients as proof that you are insured.
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What's the difference between professional indemnity and public liability?
Professional indemnity insurance covers against allegations of professional negligence - which means it would cover you if you were to make an error or mistake in a piece of work (such as a project or report) for a client.
Public liability insurance covers against allegations of injury or illness caused to third parties by your negligence. This includes many of the slips, trips and falls that are associated with personal injury claims. In addition, public liability insurance covers against damage to third party property - for example, if you were to damage a client-owned laptop or smartphone.
As they insure against different scenarios, it's important you consider arranging both types of cover to ensure you are properly protected.
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What limit of cover should I choose?
Many clients and industry bodies with regulatory requirements will require you to have a minimum level of cover for you to undertake a contract, so it's worth checking this before you arrange cover. If you're unsure, give some thought to a worst-case scenario and the likely costs involved in putting your mistake right. We offer a range of limits on insurance, so you're sure to find the right cover for your business.
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Why should I choose Markel Direct's Insurance
Markel Direct has over 25 years of experience insuring contractors, consultants and self-employed professionals. We insure over 200,000 micro businesses and are highly rated by our customers at Feefo.com.
We are a division of Markel International, a Lloyd’s of London market insurer that wrote gross premium totals of £2.4bn in 2023
To talk about your insurance requirements and better understand our cover, call us on 0800 640 6600 or get a quick quote online.
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How are Markel Direct regulated?
Markel Direct is a trading name of Markel International Insurance Company Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Find out more on the Financial Services Register.
We are a division of Markel International, a Lloyd’s of London market insurer that wrote gross premium totals of £2.4bn in 2023
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