Architects and engineers

There is no need to tell: as an architect, you have an enormous responsibility and your profession involves a lot of risks.

Unfortunately this has been demonstrated often enough in the past.
On 21 November 1984 the side wing of primary school 't Fort collapsed in Kortrijk. Two classes disappeared into the ground, and two eight-year-old girls were killed. Dozens of others were injured. The cause of the disaster was an error in the excavation work, for which the architect was held jointly liable. In 1985 the ethical obligation for architects to take out civil liability insurance was created.
And the gas explosion in Gellingen, not so long ago and engraved in people's memory. It took place on 30 July 2004 following a gas leak. The explosion and the violent fire killed 24 people and injured 132. In 2007, the ethical obligation was eventually extended to include a legal obligation.
Cover yourself against such risks with our range of insurance products, tailored to the needs of your profession!

As an engineer, you are undoubtedly aware that your profession involves a number of risks. Fortunately, thanks to the professional liability policy, you do not have to bear the financial consequences of these risks yourself.

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Who is insured?

  • You as a consulting engineer
  • Your (self-employed) trainees and employees

What is insured?

  • The financial consequences of your corporate and professional liability in the context of the performance of your profession (the policy will intervene if your fault has caused damage to third parties).
  • Defence costs (technical and legal assistance)

What is the procedure for the declaration and pricing?

  • Provisional premium at the beginning of the year, settlement on the basis of a declaration via My Protect

For houses (family homes and apartments) for which the building permit is issued after 01/07/2018, not only architects but also all the contractors involved and other service providers are required to insure their 10-year liability. This is as a result of the law of 31/05/2017.

It is best to guarantee this liability yourself. That is why Protect has provided architects and engineers with an extra guarantee in their own professional liability policy.

Are you already a Protect customer, and do you want a ten-year liability guarantee for yourself?

Please indicate each property for which the building permit was issued after 01/07/2018 using the digital declaration tool of MyProtect for Architects, which will soon be available on this website. You will immediately receive your digital insurance certificate. The premium is paid at the time of the annual settlement in January of the next year. The tool has also been developed to make it easier to check the certificates of other construction partners, which is another one of the obligations imposed on architects by the new law.

You are an architect or an engineer, but you're not yet a Protect client?

Discover here what we can do for you and how we can make your work easier. Feel free to request a quotation for professional liability. If you agree, you will also immediately receive a login and password for MyProtect. For every house with building application dating after 01/07/2018, you can simply apply for the additional ten-year liability guarantee and you will immediately receive your digital insurance certificate.

If your client or general contractor wishes to take out a comprehensive policy which insures the ten-year liability of all partners, please pay attention to the following:

  • It is always better to take out your own liability insurance, as this will enable you to take control and manage your policy in case of a claim.
  • What happens if the guarantee is exceeded? Who will pay for the excess?
  • Is the guarantee high enough in relation to the project?
  • Does the client or contractor pay the full premium himself or does he let you pay a share? In the latter case, check that your part is not much more expensive than your own individual premium.

Did you decide to take out a comprehensive policy together? If so, it is best to do so with the same insurer of the architect and engineer in order to avoid discussions between the insurer of the comprehensive policy and the TPL insurer.

Request a quotation here. For those who already insure their professional liability with Protect it will also be integrated via the digital filing tool MyProtect for Architects which will be available soon. This tool will provide all construction and other information about the site. In addition, you will receive an additional administrative fee of EUR 40 per site when you take out a policy with Protect.

You don't have to do anything yourself, the quotation is sent directly to the policyholder's mailbox.

Trainees and self-employed employees who also have their own projects in progress must also take out civil liability insurance for those projects. The starter package for young architects complements this civil liability cover with a guarantee for legal aid and an individual accident policy. This is how Protect offers you security and confidence so that you can focus entirely on your creative core task.

Combine your TPL policy with a guarantee for legal assistance and an individual accident policy!

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BENEFITS

  • Minimum premiums and lower excess
  • Legal aid
  • Ideal support for starters

Who is insured?

Trainee architects or architects who have graduated less than 5 years ago.

What is insured?

The starter package is an economic package consisting of the professional liability policy, legal assistance policy and individual accidents policy A24+.

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The contractor, engineer and architect have a 10-year liability pursuant to articles 1792 and 2270 of the civil code. However, not every building partner used to take out insurance against this liability. The architect used to be the only building partner who was legally required to take out insurance, the other building actors were not. When faced with a non-insured and/or insolvent building partner, there was never any certainty about the compensation of damages.

The new Peeters Act of 31/05/2017 now partially solves this problem and also requires contractors, architects and other construction service providers to take out an insurance policy to cover their ten-year liability. However, this is only for the construction of housing (>50% of the surface area intended for residential purposes). To this end a comprehensive 10-year liability insurance can be taken out together with all the parties involved. Insuring all construction partners with a 10-year liability in a single policy will avoid lengthy discussions about the distribution of the claim.
For the construction of housing it is a legal requirement, for other buildings not a requirement, but a necessity.

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Suppose you are criminally prosecuted and need defence, you think you were not properly compensated after a fire in your office, your invoice is not being paid... Unfortunately, the above examples are not so far-fetched: you are working in an increasingly complex society among increasingly demanding clients, which increases the chance of getting involved in such a dispute sooner or later. The legal aid policy provides the necessary assistance, both amicably and judicially, in the event of a problem of a professional nature.

Benefits

  • Independent specialised management by ARAG
  • Free choice of lawyer
  • Collection of outstanding fees

Who is insured?

Architects, interior designers, safety coordinators, surveyors-experts, engineers, landscape architects, energy experts ...

What is insured?

The policy guarantees all costs (lawyer, bailiff, expert, etc.) for the amicable, in- or out-of-court settlement of a dispute within the framework of your professional activities in the following matters:

  • Civil recourse based on extra-contractual liability
  • Criminal defence
  • Civil defence
  • Contestation of contracts
  • Labour and social law
  • Tax law
  • Disciplinary defence
  • Assistance after fire
  • Assistance with immovable property
  • Administrative disputes
  • Specific guarantee for designers only: collection of arrears of wages
  • Insolvency of third parties
  • Criminal bail

What is the price?

The premium depends on the fees; degressive premium rate from 0.85% on the fees. The minimum premium is EUR 200, to be increased by taxes and charges ( /- 15%). Contact us for an offer.

As a self-employed person, you only receives a very low benefit in case of incapacity for work. The A24+ individual accident policy offers a solution here: this insurance guarantees compensation for loss of income in the event of personal accidents, in both private and professional life.

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Who is the policyholder and who is insured?

Architects, interior designers, safety coordinators, experts, surveyors, engineers, landscape architects, ...

What is insured?

This policy insures you 24 hours a day against loss of income due to an accident. The policy provides for a payment in connection with temporary and permanent incapacity for work or death and guarantees a predefined annual salary. This amount determines both the compensation and the annual premium to be paid.

What are the benefits in case of an accident?

  • Temporary incapacity: daily allowance
  • Permanent unfitness: One-off capital
  • Death: if desired, one-time capital

What is the waiting period?

5 days.

What is the price?

  • The annual premium is set at 2.15% on the selected annual basic pay for the standard formula for both professional and private life (24/24h).
  • The annual premium is set at 1.5% of the selected annual basic pay for the formula 'only professional life'.
  • The annual premium is set at 1% of the selected annual basic pay for the formula 'only professional life'.

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Frequent trips and site visits always present a risk of accidents. Are your self-employed employees sufficiently insured for this? The A24 collective accident insurance policy guarantees compensation for loss of income in the event of accidents occurring during and as a result of the company's professional activity. Accidents on the way home and to the site are also guaranteed. The policy will give you peace of mind and can be an extra means of binding your employees to your office.

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Who is the policyholder and who is insured?

  • Policyholder: architect firms, interior designers, security coordinators, experts, surveyors, engineers, landscape architects, etc.
  • Insured persons: self-employed staff and trainees if they act in the name and for the account of the policyholder.

What is insured?

The policy provides for a benefit in the event of temporary and permanent incapacity for work and death and guarantees a predefined annual salary, which can be freely chosen per employee. This amount determines both the compensation in case of incapacity and the annual premium to be paid.

What are the benefits in case of an accident?

  • Temporary incapacity: daily allowance
  • Permanent unfitness: One-off capital
  • Death: if desired, one-time capital

What is the waiting period?

5 days.

What are the prices?

The annual premium is set at 1.5% of the selected annual remuneration.

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