Sole Trader Draftsperson, New Business

A sole trader operating a new civil drafting practice needed Professional Indemnity and Public Liability cover from the outset. Qualifications included a Cert IV in Civil Construction Design, and all drawings were signed off by a licensed surveyor before delivery to clients.

The scope of work included both traditional technical drafting and digital data processing - working in CAD software to produce construction documentation for civil projects. The practice was brand new with no prior claims history and no staff beyond the sole operator.

Client contracts required the draftsperson to hold current PI and PL before commencing work, so cover needed to be arranged quickly.

We went to market across four insurers to find cover for the risk. The CAD and data processing component of the work needed to be declared accurately - modern drafting isn't just pencil and paper, and policies that don't specifically include digital documentation work can leave a gap in coverage.

The surveyor sign-off arrangement was also relevant to how insurers assessed the risk. When a licensed surveyor reviews and certifies drawings before they're issued, it introduces a shared professional responsibility that some insurers weight differently when pricing the risk.

We presented the full picture to each insurer: the qualifications, the sign-off process, the CAD scope, and the new business status.

Three of the four insurers declined. Two cited no available capacity in their binder for this risk category at the time. One declined outright on the occupation.

This is not unusual for a newly established sole trader in a technical drafting discipline. Some insurers are simply not set up for this occupational category, regardless of how straightforward the individual risk appears. The declines weren't a reflection of the draftsperson's competence or risk profile - they were a market capacity issue.

The fourth insurer, ProRisk, assessed the risk and approved cover. The combined PI and PL programme was placed for the first year at around $2,000 in total - a workable result for a brand new business with no trading history.

The practice operated successfully through year one. At renewal, we went back to market to ensure the client continued to hold competitive cover. By this point, the business had a year of clean trading history, which improved the risk profile.

The renewal market comparison produced PI-only quotes as follows:

• Dual: ~$1,750
• ProRisk: ~$2,000
• Chubb: ~$2,450
• Vero: ~$3,150
• AIG: ~$5,750

We also re-ran the PL market at renewal, with quotes ranging from around $480 to just under $975. Combined, the best-value package at renewal was meaningfully cheaper than what a passive renewal would have produced.

The practice eventually wound down when the owner transitioned to full-time employment. A typical sole trader lifecycle - and the cover did its job for as long as the practice was trading.