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 REQUIREMENTS
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).
- Contact & Location: Principal address and contact information.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
RPEQ engineers in Queensland must meet Board of Professional Engineers Queensland (BPEQ) requirements:
- PI in Your Name: Cover must be held in the engineer's individual name or their registered business name.
- Accurate Business Description: The policy must clearly describe engineering services performed in Queensland.
- Ongoing Compliance: Engineers must maintain continuous PI coverage to satisfy BPEQ registration requirements.
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.
Proof of internal design review processes and "check-and-verify" procedures.
Copies of the standard client agreements you use to limit liability.
Evidence that you actively identify and track project risks (e.g., ISO 31000 aligned frameworks).
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:
We break down insurer jargon and help you understand exactly what's needed and why.
Avoid rejections and delays by getting your application right the first time.
We anticipate underwriter questions and provide comprehensive submissions upfront.
Proper classification of your engineering discipline leads to fairer premiums.
Whether you're a startup consultancy or an established engineering firm, we streamline the entire process.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Engineers Insurance Requirements FAQ
RELATED GUIDES
More Resources for Engineers
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