SE liability insurance

[Moonshine]

I am getting a few quotes for SE works for retaining basement walls, and most have PI for £1 million which i consider standard, and would cover a fairly large cock up / legals fees and would be appropriate for a house build with retaining basement walls.

 

However i have had a quote from one SE who has in their terms a total liability of the lesser of £25k or ten times the fee.

 

This seems far too low for a house build with retaining basement walls.

 

Thoughts?

Edited July 8, 2020 by Moonshine

[Mr Punter]

What does his PI cover extend to?  There are some liabilities from which there is no escape, even if it is in the Ts & Cs, especially when dealing with members of the public.

[jamieled]

You need to clearly distinguish between what insurance cover they hold and what liability the contract holds them to. They are two different things. Most engineers will  try and limit their liability (their insurers require them to do so). So for example they may hold PI insurance for £10m, but limit their liability to £2m. 

With PI, the liability is usually limited to whatever the contract states (or you agree) - I believe that if it is not stated, it is essentially unlimited. 

 

 

[the_r_sole]

ten times the fee seems very common with engineers, I guess that will only be tested in court if it stands up!

[Moonshine]

6 minutes ago, the_r_sole said:

ten times the fee seems very common with engineers, I guess that will only be tested in court if it stands up!

 

Cheers,

and welcome back.

[steveb2]

On 08/07/2020 at 15:28, the_r_sole said:

ten times the fee seems very common with engineers, I guess that will only be tested in court if it stands up!

 

arguably it would only be tested in court if it fell down...