DRAFTING AND DESIGN INSURANCE CASE STUDY

Precast Shop Drawing and BIM Consultancy, PI and PL Placed at Around $13,800 With No Design Responsibility Declared

Shop drawings, reinforcement drawings, panel detailing and BIM models from engineers' and architects' designs, with no engineering design, certification or calculations. Stating that boundary precisely is what the premium turned on.

01

THE SITUATION

A consultancy that has prepared precast concrete shop drawings, reinforcement drawings, panel detailing, BIM models and construction documentation for close to twenty years asked Tank Insurance to remarket its professional indemnity and public liability. The work is produced from designs supplied by engineers and architects; the consultancy undertakes no engineering design, certification, calculations or design responsibility.

The expiring PI was priced at around $12,000 before GST and statutory charges.

02

OUR APPROACH

  • The no-design-responsibility boundary was written into the submission in the consultancy's own words, because drafting that shades into design is rated as design.
  • Four PI markets were approached. One declined. Three quoted: approximately $14,300 for PI and PL combined, around $8,300 base premium before charges for PI only, and $12,700 for PI with public liability available at around $1,100.
  • Public liability was also priced standalone with six business pack insurers, at between around $300 and $1,100, so the client could see the cost of packaging it with the PI.
03

THE CHALLENGES

Shop drawings sit between drafting and engineering, and a market that reads "precast" and "reinforcement" as design will price the risk as structural engineering. The consultancy's two decades of trading and its clear statement that it works from others' designs, without certification or calculation, kept the rating in the drafting band.

04

THE OUTCOME

Professional indemnity and public liability were placed with Keystone at a combined premium of approximately $13,800 a year.

Final Solution: PI and public liability for an established precast shop drawing consultancy at around $13,800 a year, with the no-design-responsibility position on the record.

This case records one historical outcome; current insurer appetite, premium, timing and terms depend on the complete risk at the time of application.

For the wider buying context, see our drafting and design insurance guide and the CAD operator PI page.

DRAFTING CONSULTANCY QUESTIONS

What this placement answers for other drafting and detailing practices

Do shop drawing consultants need professional indemnity?
Usually, yes. A shop drawing that is relied on for fabrication is professional work, even where the engineering design belongs to someone else. The exposure is smaller than design responsibility, and the premium reflects that only if the boundary is stated clearly on the proposal.
How much does PI cost for a drafting consultancy?
It is individually underwritten. In this placement an established precast shop drawing and BIM consultancy paid approximately $13,800 a year for PI and public liability combined, with a PI-only alternative at around $8,300 base premium before charges. Trading history, the type of drawings, and whether any design or certification is undertaken all move the price.
Should public liability be packaged with PI or bought separately?
Compare both. Here standalone public liability was available from business pack insurers at between around $300 and $1,100, and the placing PI market offered it at around $1,100 on the same policy. One insurer for both can avoid arguments about which policy responds when a claim touches both.

DRAFTING AND DESIGN INSURANCE

Put this placement in context

Case-study results are historical and are not a promise of current pricing, capacity or policy terms. This page is general information only and does not take account of your objectives, financial situation or needs.

Drafting or Detailing Without Design Responsibility?

Tell us exactly what you produce and what you do not certify. We put that boundary in front of the markets that rate drafting as drafting.

Last updated: 06/09/2026

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