Unlike other professions enjoying the protection of an overriding regulator-required policy wording offering fundamental minimum terms and conditions, Consulting Engineers are often faced with the difficult task of making sense of a multitude of Professional Indemnity Insurance ('PII') policy wordings offering different levels of cover. In a market where premiums have hit an all time low and litigation is on the rise, comprehensive policy wording and protection has become more vital than ever.

Brunel Professional Risks have recently launched their own Consulting Engineers wording which has been designed to add further protection to our clients in the event of claim. Innocent non disclosure provisions, pollution cover and fee waiver recovery are often left out of standard market wordings but our philosophy is to ensure they are included as a matter of course.

Insurer's wordings often contain restrictive inner limits and condition precedents to liability so the right policy wording is essential. It is the agreement between yourself and the insurer and can be the difference between getting a claim paid or being left in the cold. However where your broker should really earn their stripes is during the policy year, when they are called upon to support your business in contract document negotiations (appointment/collateral warranty/novations), as well as providing advice on pro-active risk management and risk exposure moving forward .

Brunel have an in house risk management team and offer a two tier support network in respect of contract documents, including review by our risk management team and review by Fishburns Solicitors for their legal eye. Brunel understand that the advice given should be as much about the commercial arena as the risk management and we always make ourselves available to negotiate with your client if matters become complicated. Our clients see this as a major benefit to their insurance placement and we believe this comprehensive service is unrivalled in today's market.

Consulting Engineers are being faced with new challenges every day, from sustainability to new design methods and it is essential your PII broker is up to speed with the rapidly changing market.