How much does professional indemnity insurance for building contractors cost?
Prices start at £21.00 a month or £252.00 a year for £100,000 of professional indemnity insurance. Your price will depend on your specific range of activities, business turnover, and required cover limit.
What is professional indemnity insurance for builders?
When people search for builders' indemnity insurance, they’re often looking for professional indemnity insurance for builders or professional indemnity insurance for building contractors.
Not every builder will need it, but when you do, it can be the difference between a manageable legal issue and a financially crippling dispute.
Professional indemnity insurance protects you if a client claims they suffered financial loss as a result of your professional services. For builders, that could mean design work, technical advice, project management, or even preparing specifications.
For example, if you create plans for a client’s extension and those plans lead to costly remedial work, PI cover could help pay legal costs and any compensation owed.
It’s important to distinguish PI cover from public liability insurance. Public liability deals with physical injury or property damage caused by your manual work; professional indemnity deals with financial loss caused by errors in your professional advice or design.
Why you might need it
- Contractual requirements—Many contracts, especially for commercial or public sector projects, insist that contractors hold PI insurance.
- Business protection—Even without a contract in place, PI cover can shield your business from potentially expensive legal battles.
- Professional image—Having PI cover in place can inspire client confidence and demonstrate your commitment to professionalism.
If you’re searching for builders' indemnity insurance because your contract specifies it, chances are it’s PI insurance that’s being requested.
Conditions of purchase
Insurers will generally only offer professional indemnity insurance for building contractors if you can show you have the qualifications and relevant experience for the services you provide.
For example, if you’re advising on structural work, you’ll usually need to prove formal training or significant practical experience in that area. This helps insurers ensure they’re covering professional activities you’re competent to deliver.
What it doesn’t cover
It’s just as important to know what professional indemnity insurance for builders does not cover:
- Contractual breaches—Simply failing to meet a deadline or contract term isn’t enough unless it’s tied to professional negligence.
- Accidental injury or property damage—These are covered by public liability insurance, not PI. For example, if you damage a client’s kitchen floor during a build, that’s a public liability claim, not PI.
- Work beyond your expertise—If you give advice outside your qualifications, insurers may refuse to pay a claim.
How claims are made – and why timing matters
PI insurance operates on a claims made basis. This means the policy must be active both when the incident happened and when the claim is made.
This is crucial for builders because issues with advice or design often surface months or even years after the project ends. If you cancel your PI insurance the moment the work is done, you could find yourself unprotected if a claim arises later.
That’s why many builders opt for run-off cover – keeping the policy in place after a project finishes, just in case.
Suited hibernation option
At Suited, we understand that not every builder needs full PI insurance all year round. That’s why we offer a hibernation option – a reduced-cost way to keep your PI cover active after you finish a project. This ensures you’re protected against late claims without paying for full annual cover you’re not actively using.
In summary
If your work involves design, specification, project management or other professional services, professional indemnity insurance for builders – also referred to as builders' indemnity insurance or professional indemnity insurance for building contractors – can be a vital layer of protection. It safeguards you from the financial fallout of disputes over your professional work, something public liability insurance simply doesn’t cover.
Suited can arrange your PI cover instantly online, tailored to your specific needs. And when your project is done, our hibernation mode keeps you protected for a fraction of the cost.
