CAD Operator PI Insurance

If you provide CAD services to clients, producing technical documentation that others rely on for construction or manufacturing, you should hold PI insurance. While your role may be documentation rather than design, errors in CAD files can cause significant downstream costs that clients may seek to recover from you.

Dimensional errors are the most frequent claims. A measurement transposed incorrectly, a unit conversion error, or a decimal point in the wrong place can result in building elements constructed to wrong sizes, leading to costly rework and project delays.

CAD operators typically face claims for documentation errors rather than design decisions. Your exposure relates to accurately capturing and presenting others' designs, not the design concepts themselves. However, if you make design decisions or modifications, your exposure and required coverage increases accordingly.

Yes, Professional Indemnity insurance covers errors in both 2D CAD documentation and 3D BIM modelling. BIM adds complexity with object parameters, clash detection data, and model coordination - all areas where errors can lead to claims. If your work also involves 3D visualisation, see our page on 3D Visualiser PI insurance.

Cover of $250,000-$2M is common for CAD operators. The appropriate level depends on the complexity of projects you work on and the potential cost of errors. Contracts with architects, engineers, or building designers often specify minimum PI requirements.