Design Consultancy - Retail Centres and Townhouse Developments

A design consultancy combining interior design and architectural work came to us needing Professional Indemnity insurance. The practice worked on retail centres and townhouse developments under owner-builder arrangements, with annual revenue around $150,000 and one staff member.

The principal was a qualified architect by background but was outsourcing all architect-approved designs to qualified third parties at the time of quoting. This dual-occupation profile, interior design plus architectural consultancy, meant standard insurer appetites didn't always align with the risk.

They needed PI cover with options at $10M, $20M, and $30M limits, along with $20M Public Liability.

We went to market across four insurers to obtain competitive terms across the requested limit options.

The quotes and responses we received:

• Vero: approximately $2,000 for $10M PI
• Dual: approximately $3,400
• Woodina: approximately $6,600
• QBE: declined on occupation
• Berkley: declined on occupation

The pricing spread was significant. Vero's quote was roughly half the next cheapest option and less than a third of Woodina's. For identical cover, the difference was substantial.

The main challenge here was the dual-occupation profile. A practice that sits across interior design and architectural consultancy doesn't fit neatly into standard underwriting categories. QBE and Berkley both declined purely on occupation, meaning neither would consider the risk at any price.

The owner-builder townhouse work added another layer. Some insurers view owner-builder projects differently from standard architectural consulting because the design firm has a closer relationship with the construction outcome.

Despite these complications, three of the five insurers we approached provided quotes, giving the client genuine options to compare.

We placed $10M PI through Vero at approximately $2,000. The $20M Public Liability was added on the same day.

Quotes were delivered same day from an inbound call. The client reviewed overnight and bound the following morning. A straightforward result for a risk that two major insurers wouldn't touch.