Professional indemnity insurance (BAV) for a self-employed structural engineer
A structural error becomes visible under load, not at handover. Until then your calculation sits unnoticed under a building you left long ago.
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In brief
A self-employed structural engineer supplies design basis documents, strength calculations, reinforcement and steelwork drawings and sometimes a review of someone else's work. The loss that follows is almost never a fallen beam, but an intervention in a building that is already standing: extra propping, a strengthened floor, a delayed handover, a halted building process. That is pure financial loss and therefore the domain of the BAV. What that policy does at heart is set out on the hub page on the BAV.
Your greatest vulnerability lies not in the arithmetic but in the assumptions. An assumed soil condition, an assumed imposed load, a floor finish carried out heavier than stated, an opening added to the model later: the model calculates neatly with whatever you put into it. So record for each project which load assumptions, standards and consequence class you applied, and who supplied which data. Without that document it cannot be established afterwards whose assumption was wrong.
Also determine who monitors structural consistency. Where several parties work on parts of the structure — a precast supplier, a steel fabricator, a foundation contractor — the interface between those parts falls between two stools as soon as nobody is appointed as coordinating structural engineer. State in your engagement letter whether or not you perform that role. If you work within a larger team, see also professional indemnity for structural engineering firms.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare professional indemnity insurance (BAV).
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Professional indemnity insurance (BAV)
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What to look out for
Four points that weigh more heavily in structural work than the sum insured.
One spreadsheet, several projects
Structural engineers reuse schemes, spreadsheets and standard details. If there is a mistake in them, it affects every project in which they were used. Policies treat such related claims as one claim under one limit, allocated to one insurance year. Read how your policy defines relatedness. That definition determines whether five claims are paid once or five times.
Temporary works are a separate insured capacity
A propping plan, a formwork calculation, a lifting or demolition sequence: this is support to the works and does not automatically fall under the description 'structural design' on your policy schedule. If such a temporary structure collapses, there is also real property damage and injury, and that falls outside the BAV. For that you need liability insurance for self-employed professionals needed.
Hired in by a practice: whose policy comes first?
If you are seconded to an engineering or architectural practice, the question is whether you fall within their group of insured persons or remain insured independently. Many practices require your own BAV by contract while at the same time not excluding recourse. Have it recorded for each engagement who handles the claim, otherwise you will be sent back and forth between two insurers when a claim arises.
What is not included
Excluded are the redoing your own calculation and repayment of fees, contractual penalties and reductions for delay, and liability under a guarantee or obligation to achieve a result that you took on yourself. For loss caused by intent or wilful recklessness the exclusion in Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Codeapplies. A defect you already knew about at inception of the policy is not insurable either.
What does your premium depend on?
- Annual turnover: split into calculation, drawing and review work
- Consequence class of the projects: housing weighs differently from public buildings
- Structural material: concrete, steel, timber or a combination
- Work on existing buildings: interventions in a load-bearing structure are more sensitive
- Form of engagement: your own engagements or secondment to a practice
- Sum insured and excess: per claim and per insurance year
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | AVB | BAV |
|---|---|---|
| A floor calculated too light that has to be strengthened after handover | No | Yes |
| A mistake in a reused spreadsheet that recurs in four current projects | No | Provided that |
| Injury caused by the collapse of a structure you calculated | No | Provided that |
| A propping plan of yours fails and the formwork collapses | No | No |
| The contractor recovers his delay penalty from you because your drawings were late | No | No |
| You drop a measuring instrument on the building site and hit a fitter | Yes | No |
Support to the works such as propping, lifting and demolition is a separate insured capacity and moreover produces loss that the BAV by definition does not cover.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
The contractor built something different from what I specified. Who bears it?
In principle the party carrying out the work, provided your documents show what you specified. If you see a departure during construction, you must warn; Article 7:754 of the Dutch Civil Code requires a warning that is in writing and unambiguous. A remark during a site meeting only counts if it appears in the minutes. Without a record your defence in a claim becomes considerably weaker.
My client supplied incorrect soil test data. Am I then in the clear?
Not automatically. You are expected to assess supplied data for plausibility and to ask for further investigation where there is doubt. If you asked that question and it was refused in writing, responsibility shifts. So state in the design basis document which data you took from third parties and that you did not verify it yourself.
Is a calculation I made years ago still insured?
That depends on the moment of notification and on your prior-acts cover. A claims made policy covers claims notified during the term, regardless of when the mistake was made, provided the mistake falls after the retroactive date. If you switch to another insurer, make sure the retroactive date moves with you. If it does not, a gap appears over your oldest work.
What if injury is caused by a structure collapsing?
Personal injury is not pure financial loss and therefore falls outside the ordinary BAV. Some insurers offer an extension under which injury and property damage arising from a professional error are included. Ask about it explicitly, because without that extension or a matching public and employers' liability policy the most serious type of loss remains uninsured.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
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