Newly Registered Architect, First Year of Practice

A newly registered architect in Sydney's inner west contacted us needing Professional Indemnity insurance. They had been registered for less than a year and were in the very early stages of building a residential architecture practice.

Revenue was under $100,000 with one staff member, working exclusively in NSW. The primary need was $1M PI to satisfy their NSW architect registration requirements.

For newly registered architects, getting the first PI policy in place is a registration compliance requirement. Without it, they can't legally practise under the title of architect.

We went to market across four insurers to obtain competitive options for $1M PI cover:

• Dual: approximately $1,000
• Woodina: approximately $1,100
• QBE: approximately $1,300
• AIG: approximately $1,300

All four insurers were willing to quote, which isn't always the case for newly registered architects with less than a year of trading history. The pricing spread was relatively tight, from roughly $1,000 to $1,300.

The main consideration here wasn't finding willing insurers. It was making sure the policy met NSW registration board requirements from day one.

Newly registered architects are sometimes viewed as higher risk by certain underwriters because they lack a claims history and have limited trading experience. In this case, all four markets were comfortable with the risk, which gave the client genuine choice.

The client needed cover confirmed quickly to remain compliant with their registration obligations.

We placed $1M PI through Dual at approximately $1,000, the lowest of the four quotes. The client called back the same day to confirm and proceed.

A straightforward placement, but exactly the kind of cover that needs to be right from the start. Registration boards don't allow gaps.