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Our specialist insurance for engineering contractors provides expert cover for a wide range of technical and engineering professions across civil, mechanical, electrical, structural, and environmental.
Engineering projects often involve complex technical responsibilities, and even minor errors can lead to significant consequences. Claims of professional negligence, accidental damage during site visits, or the loss of specialist tools, instruments, or digital equipment can risk disrupting your work and reputation.
Our tailored insurance solutions are designed to safeguard your practice against these risks and a broad range of additional exposures, allowing you to focus on delivering reliable engineering for your clients.
Cover at a glance:
- Professional indemnity cover up to £5m
- Covers design errors, omissions and professional negligence
- Suitable for freelance engineers and small firms
- Public and employers’ liability available
What is engineers insurance?
Engineers insurance is designed to protect your business if something unexpected happens - such as an error causing a financial loss to your client or someone being injured as a result of your negligence.
We cover a multitude of professions – including project engineers, design engineers, electrical engineers, mechanical engineers and many more - across a wide range of onshore and offshore industries, including energy, oil and gas.
Cover starting at
£5 a month*
*Price based on a project engineer requiring £1 million of public liability insurance.
Why do engineers need insurance?
A mistake in a design, poor advice or an accident caused by your error could result in your client pursuing you for the cost of putting things right. Without engineer insurance in place, you would have to defend these claims yourself.
Our contractor engineer insurance can cover you against such scenarios and many more - giving you the peace of mind that if something does go wrong, you'll be covered.
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.
What does engineers insurance cover?
With over 25 years’ experience in the sector, Markel understands the risks facing contract engineers. An error in your work could result in your client pursuing you for the cost of putting things right. Examples of what's covered by professional indemnity insurance and public liability insurance includes:
Some of the engineering professions we cover
Tailor your contractor engineer insurance with these covers
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Professional indemnity insurance
Professional indemnity insurance for engineers 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.
Examples of claims include:
- You are contracted to provide a number of 3D designs for a client. You use incorrect measurements in your designs, which results in significant delays to your client's project. Your client takes legal action against you to recover their losses.
PI insurance is usually a mandatory requirement for contract engineers requested by either the recruitment agency or directly by the client. We offer cover for a wide range of limits ranging from £100k to £5m. -
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.
If you visit client premises or sites as part of your business’ activities, it’s likely you’ll need this insurance cover. Like professional indemnity insurance, it’s usually a pre-requisite for recruitment agencies and/or clients. Limits range from £1m to £5m. -
Employer’s liability insurance
Employer’s liability insurance is a legal requirement if your firm has employees. This type of insurance covers your business against claims for injury or illness suffered by employees arising from their employment with you. If you have employees, regardless of whether they are full-time or part-time, you need this cover. Limit of £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 of 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 £100k to £5m. -
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).
It pays a lump sum in the event of:
- Loss of limbs
- Loss of sight
- Loss of speech
- Loss of hearing
- Permanent disablement
- Death
This cover could help you maintain an income if you are unable to work following an accident while working on an engineering contract, and would struggle to maintain a steady income while off work.
How it works
Choose the cover you require
Get a quote you need in minutes
Buy online or contact one of our advisors
Arrange your engineers insurance online
Tailoring your engineer contractor insurance online is quick and easy, and you'll receive an instant proof of cover enabling you to secure contracts straight away. Our simple quote system asks about your business activities and gives you the option to buy all or just some of the covers quoted, so you will only pay for the insurance you want.
Take advantage of our cover today - call us on 0800 640 6600 and one of our engineer insurance experts will be more than happy to answer any questions you have so you can choose the right cover for your business.
Indicative quotes
Electrical engineer
- Limited company
- 1 employee
- £70,000 turnover
- Exeter
- (£350.69/yr)
- £35.07/mo
- Professional indemnity £250,000
- Public liability £5m
- Employers' liability £10m
- Cyber
Design engineer
- Limited company
- 0 employees
- £72,000 turnover
- Ipswich
- (£404.10/yr)
- £40.41/mo
- Professional indemnity £1m
- Public liability £1m
- Legal expenses £100,000
- Employers' liability
Project engineer
- Limited company
- 0 employees
- £93,000 turnover
- Peterborough
- (£580.50/yr)
- £58.05/mo
- Professional indemnity £1m
- Public liability £1m
- Cyber
- Legal expenses
*Final price payable is subject to underwriting criteria and acceptance. AI images are used on this website to depict example customer types. Any resemblance to an actual person is purely coincidental.
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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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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Am I covered if I work abroad?
In most cases, we can insure you if you do a proportion of your work abroad. Our quick and simple quote form will ask what percentage of your income comes from overseas and we can tell you instantly whether we can cover you or not. Alternatively, call us on 0800 640 6600 to speak to one of our contractor insurance experts.
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I undertake work offshore - does the policy cover this?
We offer cover for a wide range of professions working offshore. Get an online quote now or call us on 0800 640 6600 if you'd prefer to speak to someone.
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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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