Insurance for architects Insurance for architects

Professional protection for architects with personalised insurance that fits your business as well as 5-star customer service and claims support.

Be quote confident. We'll beat the price of any like-for-like quote. T&Cs apply.

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What does architects' insurance cover?

Whether you own an architecture firm or work as a self-employed freelance architect, there are some significant risks associated with designing buildings and infrastructure.

Superscript's personalised insurance for architects protects you and your business against a range of risks, from the loss or theft of specialist equipment to cyber breaches and much more.

Build you fully customisable policy with a range of covers, including:

  • Public liability
  • Business equipment
  • Employers' liability
  • Cyber insurance

Be quote confident

We're big on fairness. So if you find a lower price for a comparable quote, we won't just match it – we'll go one better and beat it.

So even better than apples to apples, apples to better apples. We're talking Galas to Braeburns.

As you'd expect, T&Cs apply.

What covers do architects need?

Public liability

One of the most commonly sought-after covers for sole traders and limited companies or all sizes, public liability insurance protects you in the event that you are responsible for injuring (or damaging the property of) a third party, such as a client or member of the public. It can cover the legal and compensation costs if a claim is made against you.

Business equipment

Equipment cover protects the valuable specialist equipment that you rely on to complete your work and run your business, day in, day out. Whether it's specialist drafting tools, or your laptop and phone, you're covered against loss, theft and damage.

You can get up to £10,000 of equipment cover, with a limit of £2,500 for each individual item.

Accident and sickness cover

Accident and sickness insurance comes in three parts to cover workers aged between 16-69.

Firstly, it’s designed to provide financial support for up to 50 weeks if you or an employee goes on long-term sick leave. It can also provide financial assistance for up to 180 nights if you, or an employee, were hospitalised.

And finally, a lump sum benefit of up to £50,000 can be paid out if you or an employee suffers a serious injury or up to £25,000 in the unfortunate event that an insured person dies.

Cyber insurance

Cyber insurance is designed to protect you from a range of cyber risks that can affect sole trader and self-employed individuals in any industry.

From card data breaches to social engineering fraud and GDPR non-compliance to business interruption if your website provider goes down, cyber insurance protects you.

Employers' liability

If you employ any staff, then you are legally obliged to hold employers' liability insurance. This cover protects you and your business in the event of a claim made by someone you employ, for instance if they are injured at work.

Superscript's employers' liability insurance includes £10 million of cover as standard.

Once you've completed a quote, you'll be able to view a summary of cover. Please always refer to your policy documents for full details around exclusions, terms and limits of your customised cover. Read our guide to understanding your policy documents.

Architects' insurance claims examples

There are various different types of insurance claim that a an architect may have to make, so here are a few examples of specific claims that would be covered by Superscript’s customisable policy:

Hot coffee spillage

When presenting blueprints to a client at your office, you accidentally spill hot coffee over their laptop, damaging it beyond repair. Your public liability insurance can cover your legal and compensation costs if the client makes a claim against you.

Website downtime

Your firm's website crashes due to a cyber attack on the web service firm that hosts your site. Your cyber insurance policy can pay out for projected profits lost during your company’s downtime, even if the outage happened at a third-party business you depend on.

Injured employee

While doing a site inspection, an employee of yours is injured and makes a claim against your company. Your employers' liability insurance can cover the legal and compensation costs involved in a claim against your business by an employee.

How do claims work for architects?

1

Notify us of the claim

Contact us by email at claims@gosuperscript.com, by 24/7 freephone on 0800 772 3059 or by logging in to your customer portal.

Ideally this should be done as soon as possible and within 30 days of you becoming aware of anything which you think may be covered by your insurance.

A good indicator of whether or not to let us know is if there's an issue which may require a payment to be made on your behalf.

2

We'll get on the case

We'll acknowledge your claim within 24 hours, and sometimes in as little as 30 minutes! This means you'll receive email confirmation of your claims reference and contact information should you need to speak to us.

We will then reach out to you within 48 hours to request any extra information we need to progress your claim.

We'll keep you updated on the next steps as the claim progresses.

3

A decision is made

We'll let you know if your claim is successful or not. If your claim isn't covered, we will always try to point you in the right direction and support you as best we can in getting back to normal.

Read about the most common reasons claims aren't paid.

If your claim is successful, once we have all the documents we need, we will aim to settle claims such as accidental damage, theft and lost equipment within five working days.

Architects' insurance FAQs

What is architects' insurance?

Business insurance for architects and architecture firms is a combination of different covers, including:

  • Public liability insurance – covers injury or property damage caused to a member of the public or a client
  • Employers' liability insurance – covers you for the costs associated with a claim made against you by a member of staff
  • Cyber insurance (optional) – protects you from hacking, social engineering fraud and much more
  • Business equipment insurance – covers your specialist equipment, as well as your laptops and phones, from loss, theft and damage.
  • Personal accident insurance – pays a benefit if someone working for the business suffers an accident resulting in loss of sight, hearing, speech or a limb, death or leaving them disabled and permanently unable to work

Together, your policy can protect you from the wide variety of professional risks associated with designing buildings and infrastructure.

How much does insurance for architects cost?

The cost of your policy will depend on a number of factors such as your location, the types of activities you engage in, the value of your equipment, whether or not you have employees and whether or not you wish to include cyber cover.

Do architects have to have insurance?

The only cover that is legally required of businesses in the UK is employers' liability insurance that is compulsory for most businesses with staff.

However, you may wish to consider whether or not you would be able to cover the cost of a claim made against you or the cost to replace damaged equipment if you did not hold other business insurance covers.

Is my architects' insurance tax deductible?

In short, yes. Your business insurance premium is labeled by HMRC as an 'allowable expense' and the cost of your premium can be written off against your taxable profit for the year. Be sure to keep records of your expenses for your self-assessment or corporation tax return.

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Our insurance products are underwritten by Standard & Poor’s A-rated financial strength or higher. This means the underwriter has been independently assessed by the world’s leading credit rating provider and found to have a strong capacity to meet financial commitments (pay claims).

Protected by the FSCS

If you are a business with an annual turnover under £1m, charity with an annual income under £1m, or trust with net assets under £1m, then you will be entitled to compensation from the FSCS in the unlikely event we cannot meet our obligations. Full details and further information on the scheme are available at www.fscs.org.uk.