Surveying practices with survey and valuation exposure to the property market currently have one of the most restricted choices in the Professional Indemnity Insurance (‘PII’) market, so it's absolutely essential that the right broker is selected to negotiate with the limited markets providing terms.

First impressions are so important in the PII market. If a poor presentation is handed to an underwriter, it can mean the risk is either instantly declined, or a rate is applied which is not commercially viable to trade. Brunel Professional Risks have the reputation of understanding businesses before going to market, which takes time and experience. However, the investment of time can often mean the difference between competitive terms, or sometimes even getting a quotation at all. Sadly many other brokers do not invest their time in understanding firms and will simply forward the proposal form to the underwriter, often without even reading it. With limited insurers willing to quote, this may be a serious loss of opportunity.

The main reason surveyors have been tarred with the high risk brush is due to historical claims experience and the present rise in the volume of surveyor's claims. Insurers fear that history may be repeating itself. However, when a profession is flooded with claims, insurers are often guilty of applying a ‘general’ mentality when quoting, dismissing a case as part of the sector as a whole as ‘not one for us’ or ‘too much Survey & Valuation’, as opposed to looking at a firm on it's own individual merits. If insurers are going to quote businesses on their own merits, they need to trust the broker and have faith that the broker will go the extra mile in understanding the risk they are involved in.

Our risk management and broking team work very closely together and when presenting to underwriters we adopt an approach which considers all aspects of our client's risk. We will even provide an audit of files if necessary, to achieve the right result. Our underwriting meetings are face to face and we also encourage tripartite meetings, to ensure the client has the benefit of presenting their own firm to the underwriter. Very few brokers encourage this as they feel threatened the client will build an independent relationship with the insurer. Our philosophy is that it is an extra opportunity to win the insurer over and source competitive terms for our client.

Brunel are a team of experts and will be more than happy to refer you to one of our clients who has had direct experience of our approach.