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Personalised insurance for architects and surveyors

Use our online tool to build a policy that fits your business, so you only pay for what you need.

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or call us on 0345 878 5622

Call us on 0345 878 5622

Join over 500,000 businesses who trust us
with their insurance.

  • Get 10% off business insurance if you’re already a Direct Line customer.

    Discount applies to your new business insurance policy. Subject to minimum premiums.

  • You're covered if you work in your office, on site or at home.
  • No admin fees if you need to make changes to your policy.
  • 0% APR on your monthly direct debit payments in the first year.

    New customers only, over 18s, subject to eligibility.

  • We guarantee to beat your new business quote or renewal premium from any other insurer.

    Excludes van. New customers only. Cover on an equivalent basis to ours. Qualifying criteria apply. Terms & Conditions.

Customise your Architects and Surveyors’ Insurance

As an architect or surveyor, you’re relied upon for your advice, precision and judgement. A fault in your measurements or design could result in major financial difficulties for your client and even put people’s safety at risk. If a client or member of the public decides to take you to court, you face potentially high legal costs, even if you’re not at fault.

At Direct Line for Business, we understand the pressures of working in your industry and we know your insurance policy needs to meet your very specific needs. We also understand that every business is different; that’s why we offer Architects and Surveyors’ insurance that you can customise.

You can use our online tool to select the type of cover you want. For example, you could choose to only take out professional indemnity cover or bundle it with other options such as contents insurance or business interruption.

You can pay monthly with 0% APR in your first year and there’s only one renewal date to remember. It couldn’t be simpler. See our list of available cover options below.

Keeping your business running smoothly

Potential legal costs aside, there are also other risks involved in running a business. You might need to provide insurance cover for your employees or expensive specialist equipment like high-spec PCs and surveying equipment.

Appearances matter when you’re hosting clients; you may also want to arrange cover for your office with all its valuable art and furniture.

Meanwhile, if your premises is affected by an insured event such as fire or flood, and trading has to cease, we can cover the costs of getting your business back up and running. Your working life is complex enough so we want to make choosing your insurance as quick and simple as possible.

Get a quote
or call us on 0345 878 5622
Get a quote call us on 0345 878 5622

Your cover options

There are different types of business insurance and you need to select the kind that works for you. Include any of the following cover options in your Architects and Surveyors’ Insurance to create a policy that precisely fits your firm’s needs. These covers are subject to policy conditions and limits.

  • Professional indemnity

    Professional indemnity insurance is a commercial necessity among architects and surveyors. Some public sector organisations, local authorities and even larger commercial companies insist that you have cover in place before they’ll work with you.

    If you make a mistake and a client accuses you of negligence and makes a claim against your business, professional indemnity insurance will cover your legal expenses and any compensation costs you have to pay.

    Our professional indemnity insurance meets the requirements of the major architecture professional bodies, including:

    • The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)
    • The Architects Registration Board (ARB)

    We can only offer selected professions professional indemnity cover. We can cover:

    • Architects
    • Architectural Surveying
    • Garden Design
    • Interior Design
    • Planning Consultancy
    • Quantity Surveying

    We do not currently offer professional indemnity cover for:

    • Landscape architects
    • Building surveyors
    • Chartered surveyors
    • Land surveyors
    • Property evaluators

    However, we can offer other types of insurance to these professions, such as public liability and business contents and equipment cover, which you can read more about below.

    So, if you’d like to insure other aspects of your business with us, you can get a quote online or call us on 0345 878 5622.

  • Public liability

    Public liability insurance covers you if you accidentally injure a client or member of the public or damage someone’s property. If anyone makes a claim against you, public liability will cover your legal costs and any compensation payouts.

    We can offer cover from £1 million to £10 million. We won’t be able to cover you if you undertake or oversee manual work on site.

  • Employers' liability

    Employer’s liability insurance is a legal requirement if you have employees. Read more about employers' liability to learn about exemptions to this rule.

    At Direct Line for Business, we offer £10 million cover as standard. This covers your legal costs if an employee gets injured or becomes ill because of the work they do for you and takes legal action against you.

  • Buildings cover

    If there is damage following an insured event such as flood or fire in the property where you work, buildings insurance will cover the cost of the repairs or reinstatement, this includes debris removal and design fees.

    Equipment breakdown cover (for items forming part of the buildings) is included as standard. This covers the costs of repairing or replacing a broken boiler and fire/burglar alarms, as long as the breakdown is not due to wear and tear.

  • Contents and equipment cover

    If you rent or own an office, you may want to cover your office contents, equipment and documents. You can also cover your expensive electrical items in case of damage, breakdown (excluding wear and tear) or theft.

    We also offer a cover option that allows you to insure these items on the go, which is helpful if you go on site visits or work at different places. If your work laptop fell on the ground and the screen cracked, we’d cover the cost of replacing it.

  • Business interruption

    Depending on the set-up and size of your business, you might work from home, in an office, at your client’s premises or from a shared working space. If your working premises became unusable due to an insured event such as a fire or flood, business interruption will cover the costs of setting up in a temporary space. It will also cover your loss of turnover if you’ve insured your premises.

    If your main client has damage to their building that means they can’t trade, we’d cover you for loss of income while they set up elsewhere.

    Our business interruption cover can insure you if you or one of your key employees becomes seriously disabled and is unable to continue work. We will cover the incurred costs, up to £25,000, to minimise any interruption to the business.

  • Theft of takings

    This cover will reimburse you if any money or cheques are stolen from your place of work.

  • Cyber cover

    As we increasingly rely on technology to run our businesses, cyber cover is becoming more and more important. This type of cover insures you against the risks that come with using computers to help run your business, including:

    • The costs you face as a result of cyber crime
    • Compensation and defence costs for a data breach or unintentional transmission of a virus
    • Loss of income following a cyber attack
    • The cost of responding to a cyber ransom demand

    We also provide access to specialist support for PR and crisis management, identity theft assistance, IT forensics and data recovery experts, and specialist advice to prevent viruses or hacking attacks after an incident.

  • Legal expenses

    Pays the legal costs of providing specialist lawyers and taking action against many common legal problems, for instance disputes with suppliers or clients.

How can we help?

Get a quote, talk to us via live chat or call us on
0345 878 5622

Visit our contact us page to view our opening hours.

Frequently asked questions

  • QHow much does it cost to insure a small business?

    There's no one answer to this question as every business has different needs and circumstances. That's why we let you design your own Architects and Surveyors' Insurance policy, so you're in control of how much you pay. Generally, the things that will affect the price of business insurance quotes include: the size of your business, number of employees, and your history of insurance claims.

  • QHow do I find out if professional indemnity insurance covers my trade?

    Get a quote with us, and when you enter your trade you will be offered professional indemnity cover if it is available to you.

    We do not currently offer professional indemnity cover for:

    • landscape architects
    • building surveyors
    • chartered surveyors
    • land surveyors
    • property evaluators

    You can still pick from all the other cover options we offer to insure the other aspects of your business.

    We are constantly developing our policies and things do change. We hope to be able to offer you professional indemnity in the future.

Policy documents

If you have an existing quote or policy with us, you can view and download your policy documents from the My Account page.

We tailor all our policies, so your documents only show what you’ve chosen to cover.

Below is a summary of a generic policy, from 15 July 2018 until 31 March 2019, which shows the main covers and exclusions in our policies.

Below is a summary of a generic policy, from 1 April 2019 onwards, which shows the main covers and exclusions in our policies.

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© 1999- U K Insurance Limited

Direct Line insurance policies are underwritten by U K Insurance Limited, Registered office: The Wharf, Neville Street, Leeds LS1 4AZ. Registered in England and Wales No 1179980. U K Insurance Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority, registration number 202810. The Financial Services Register can be accessed through www.fca.org.uk. Calls may be recorded.