No matter how good an engineer you are, you can still make a mistake on a project that may have serious or even catastrophic consequences later. For example, a mistake in your calculations could result in a building that develops cracks, or even collapses, during a major earthquake. These mistakes, no matter how inadvertent, will expose you to lawsuits from clients or third-parties for damages resulting from your perceived failure to carry out your work in a satisfactory fashion. In order to protect yourself and your business, you need to buy a professional liability engineers insurance policy. This type of insurance, which is also known as an errors and omissions (E & O) policy, covers both the cost of defending yourself against a lawsuit as well as any monetary damages awarded to the claimant in case of a judgment against you for not performing to the prevailing standard of care.

However, when buying a professional liability engineers you should avoid having both coverage gaps and having too much coverage. Coverage gaps will make you vulnerable to financial losses in case you are found liable for a risk for which you are not covered. Excessive coverage, on the other hand, means that you are paying too much for your policy, since it covers risks that you may never encounter. Hence you should assess your needs carefully to ensure that you are getting the right amount of coverage.

The important coverage features that you should have in your professional liability policy include:
• Coverage for punitive and exemplary damages;
• Coverage to reimburse costs used to reduce or avoid a claim;
• Coverage for suits brought against you anywhere in the world, if you accept jobs from overseas;
• Coverage for full civil liability and not just negligence;
Depending on the kind of projects you’re engaged in, you may also need the following specialized coverage features:
• Coverage against hacking, malware and virus infection liability;
• Coverage against pollution liability, covering accidental, sudden as well as gradual pollution.
• Coverage against a client’s breach of contract; and
• Coverage against breach of intellectual property rights.

Note that if you have had continuous E&O coverage with your current carrier, your coverage will include work that was completed from the earliest date when you took out the policy. For example, if you first bought your policy in 2001 and have maintained it since then, you will be covered against new claims brought against you for projects performed since then.