Professional indemnity insurance (PII) is a type of insurance that’s used by professionals such as engineers. It provides cover against any negligence or breach of professional duty claims made by clients.
PII is important for engineers because it provides financial protection against claims. It can help cover the cost of legal fees and any damages that might result from a potential claim or allegation. Read the PII information sheet and checklist to learn more.
Additionally, having PII can also be a requirement for specific contracts and in certain jurisdictions, it can be a requirement for registration.
However, for some time the global insurance market has been experiencing a hardened market cycle. Australia has been hit particularly hard due to various factors including limited competition among insurers, a history of under-priced insurance products and high-profile project failures in certain industries. These factors have led to issues with the affordability and availability of PII, with many engineering professionals unable to source adequate cover.
Our position
As the industry’s peak body, Engineers Australia recognises that the current insurance situation is not sustainable. So, we’re proactively working to address the problems faced by the profession and to develop possible solutions.
To help facilitate this we’ve developed a three-stage action plan to guide the activities needed to support our members and improve the risk profile of the profession.
Engineers Australia is currently in stage two of the action plan.
Stage one
Includes short term goals such as:
- forming partnerships with key stakeholders
- organising industry discussions to focus on the most affected engineering sectors
- helping members gain a better understanding of the insurance market.
Stage two
This medium term goal includes working with insurers to identify key risk areas and develop risk management protocols. It also focuses on encouraging insurers to determine a fair risk allocation which is linked to Engineers Australia's membership grades.
Stage three
Our long term goal is to promote a culture shift around risk allocation and accountability in engineering industries.
Provide your input
Engineers Australia is seeking input from members to help inform our ongoing advocacy work around professional indemnity insurance.
Please email us your feedback, providing your own experiences with professional indemnity insurance.
We’ll keep this page updated on our work in this area and progression with PII in Australia.