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What is required when obtaining insurance for engineers?

Engineering work involves professional, operational and digital risks, so insurers need accurate information to offer the right terms.

Whether you’re organising cover for Professional Indemnity, Public Liability, Business Pack or Cyber Insurance, most engineers across Australia must provide a similar set of core details.Tank Insurance makes the process simple. We guide you through each requirement, explain what insurers look for, and ensure your application meets industry, contractual and regulatory expectations.

Core Information Required for Engineers Insurance

Most insurers ask for the same core information to assess your engineering services, risks and contractual exposure. Here is a complete list of the requirements you will typically provide.

Business Identity and Legal Structure

This is required to confirm the legal entity being insured and ensures the policy correctly reflects the firm's liability structure.

- Legal Identification: Full legal name, trading name and Australian Business Number (ABN).
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- Contact & Location: Principal address and contact information.
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- Legal Structure: The definitive legal form (e.g., Proprietary Limited Company, Sole Trader, Partnership, Trust).

Director Experience and Qualifications

Insurers assess the firm's competency based on the experience of its key personnel. This is particularly critical for startups or firms with limited trading history.

- Experience Profile: A summary of the Directors' or Principals' experience levels, qualifications and areas of expertise.
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- CV Requirement: For engineers starting a new business or those with less than 3–5 years of experience, insurers will often request a current CV to validate technical competency and prior project experience.

Engineering Discipline

The specific field of practice is the primary factor used to classify risk and match the applicant to a specialist underwriting scheme.

- Classification: Identification of the core discipline(s) such as Structural, Civil, Geotechnical, Mechanical, Electrical or Environmental.

- Risk Profile: Certain disciplines (e.g., Geotechnical, High-rise Structural) are inherently considered higher risk by underwriters and require closer scrutiny.

Revenue and Scale of Operations

Revenue is a key underwriting metric, directly proportional to the scale of projects and overall exposure.

- Financial Data: Gross annual revenue for the last completed financial year and an estimated projection for the upcoming year.
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- Usage: This data determines the scale of exposure and is the primary factor used for setting premium rates for PI and PL policies.

Detailed Scope of Professional Services

Insurers need a clear breakdown of the services provided, often requested as a percentage of total annual revenue, to distinguish between different risk categories.

- High-Risk Services: The percentage of revenue derived from Design and formal Certification work.

- Lower-Risk Services: The percentage of revenue from non-design activities such as Technical Reports, Expert Witness services, Peer Review, Project Management and Consultation.

Claims and Notification History

Professional Indemnity (PI) policies are underwritten on a "claims-made" basis, making accurate disclosure mandatory.

- Prior Claims: Details of all past claims, including the nature of the claim, the resolution status (resolved/unresolved), and the actions taken.

- Circumstances: Applicants must disclose any known or notified circumstances that a reasonable person would believe could give rise to a future claim, even if a formal claim has not yet been lodged.

- The Retroactive Date: This is the date after which your work is covered by the policy. If you provided professional advice before this date, it is not covered. Insurers use this date, along with your claims history, to determine your past exposure. Always ensure this date is maintained from your first policy.

Subcontractors and Contingent Liability

Insurers assess the use of external staff to determine the applicant's contingent liability exposure.

- Usage: Confirmation of whether subcontractors are used and the percentage of project work outsourced.

- Type of Work: Confirmation of the technical work that is being outsourced and the type of work performed by subcontractors.

- Insurance Requirement: Confirmation that all independent subcontractors maintain their own current and adequate Professional Indemnity and Public Liability coverage.

Limit of Indemnity (Cover Required)

The chosen limit (e.g., $1 Million, $5 Million, $10 Million) is dictated by external factors, not solely by the engineer's preference.

- Primary Drivers: The limit is determined by mandatory contractual requirements from clients, industry standards and specific state regulatory obligations.

- Contractual Certainty: Insurers check your largest contracts to ensure the requested limit matches or exceeds the mandatory requirement stated by your clients. If your largest contract requires $10M cover, applying for $5M will often lead to instant referral, further questions to understand the reasoning, or rejection.

- Risk Exposure: Additionally, some engineers may have higher exposure to certain risks, meaning that their potential liability will be higher. This may require a higher limit, in order to provide adequate protection.

PI compliance obligations

Mandatory PI Requirements: NSW DBP and RPEQ Compliance

Certain engineers must satisfy additional disclosure and policy requirements so their PI cover is valid under the relevant state schemes.

NSW

Design and Building Practitioners (DBP)

Class 2 and associated work

For engineers completing regulated designs for Class 2 and associated buildings under the DBP Act, specific information is mandatory:

PI Compliance: Proof that the PI policy is compliant with the DBP Act and Regulation, including meeting the minimum required retroactive cover period.

Declaration Alignment: A clear description of professional services must be provided to ensure the PI policy covers the specific responsibilities associated with issuing Design Compliance Declarations.

Tank Insurance Role: We can help in sourcing a PI policy that covers this type of work, as required by DBP.

QLD

Registered Professional Engineer of Queensland (RPEQ)

BPEQ requirements

Applicants for or current RPEQ registrants must ensure their PI policy satisfies the requirements set by the Board of Professional Engineers of Queensland (BPEQ).

Policy Holder Alignment: The PI policy must be issued in the correct name (individual or company) as required by the BPEQ registration pathway.

Scope of Registration: Confirmation that the PI cover scope aligns with the engineering services provided under the RPEQ registration.

Tank Insurance Role: We help you choose the appropriate level of cover, source an appropriate PI policy and avoid delays in your registration or renewal.

High-hazard & complex risks

Extra Disclosure: High-Hazard and Complex Engineering Risks

Engineers engaged in high-hazard or complex work will face extra scrutiny from specialist underwriters.

Examples: Mining, marine/offshore projects, highly complex structural designs, overseas exposure and product design with significant downstream liability.

Additional Disclosure: Insurers will routinely request detailed project descriptions, sample documentation, risk management protocols and quality assurance information to complete a manual, bespoke underwriting assessment.

Note: Tank Insurance are specialists at securing insurance for engineers with overseas exposure and high-hazard engineer occupations.

Risk Management Advantage

Bonus Tip: Negotiating Better Terms with Risk Management

Providing evidence of your internal risk management is the single best way to negotiate lower premiums and better policy conditions. Insurers view firms with documented quality assurance (QA) and risk frameworks as "better bets" than those without.

Tank Insurance uses these documents to prove to underwriters that your business takes risk seriously, often securing discounts.

QA/QC Manuals: Proof of internal design review processes and "check-and-verify" procedures.
Standard Form Contracts: Copies of the standard client agreements you use to limit liability.
Risk Registers: Evidence that you actively identify and track project risks (e.g., ISO 31000 aligned frameworks).
Staff Training Logs: Records showing your team is updated on the latest compliance and safety standards.

Support & guidance

How Tank Insurance Makes the Process Easy

We help you provide only what insurers need. Our team supports engineers by:

Explaining each requirement in plain language.
Helping you complete insurer forms correctly.
Reducing back-and-forth with underwriters.
Ensuring your work is described accurately.
Securing fast, accurate quotes tailored to your discipline.

Whether you’re a startup consultancy or an established engineering firm, we streamline the entire process.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Most engineers need to provide basic business details, their discipline, the type of work they perform, annual revenue, any claims history, subcontractor information and the limit required.

Yes. The core requirements are consistent across Australia. Extra requirements apply only to engineers working under the NSW DBP scheme, RPEQ in Queensland, or highly specialised disciplines.

Common limits are $1m, $2m, $5m, and $10m+, depending on contract requirements, project size and risk exposure.

DBP engineers may need to provide regulated design categories, design declaration responsibilities and a clear description of their professional services to ensure PI cover aligns with DBP expectations.

RPEQ applicants often require PI issued in their name (or business name), plus a clear business description that matches their QLD engineering services.

Yes. Insurers need to know if subcontractors are used, what they do, and whether they hold their own PI/PL cover.

Yes. We help engineers complete forms accurately, choose the right limits, and secure fast quotes from specialist engineering insurers.