The Situation
A facade glazing engineer based in Queensland came to us after struggling to find Professional Indemnity cover. With 18 years of experience in facade engineering - including glazing specification, thermal performance assessments, and structural facade design - he had a strong track record. But the 'structural' label attached to facade work meant most insurers wouldn't touch him. His previous broker had stopped returning calls.
Our Approach
We went wide. Six insurers were approached across the general and specialist markets. We positioned the risk carefully - emphasising the consultancy-only nature of the work (no installation), the years of claims-free history, and the specific scope of facade engineering versus broader structural work. Each submission was tailored to the individual underwriter's appetite.
Challenges
Five of the six insurers either declined outright or came back with premiums that were commercially unworkable. The core issue was classification - 'facade engineering' gets lumped in with 'structural engineering' by most underwriters, triggering automatic declines or punitive pricing. The reality of the work - glazing specification and thermal analysis - is lower risk than the label suggests, but underwriter systems don't always reflect that.
The Outcome
One specialist underwriter assessed the actual scope of work rather than relying on occupation codes. They provided competitive terms for $2M PI cover. The policy was bound and the engineer has renewed with us since. Sometimes it takes approaching the right market with the right positioning to get a result.
Broker Insight
Facade engineering is one of those occupations where the label causes more problems than the actual risk. If you're a facade specialist struggling to get cover, the standard online platforms probably aren't going to work. You need a broker who knows which underwriters will actually assess the work rather than decline on the code.