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Structural Engineer Insurance: Liability, PI & Quotes From $11

The job of a structural engineer is closely similar to that of civil engineers. You’re responsible for the analysis and design of beams and other structures that help a building withstand earthquakes, winds, and other elements. Ensuring that the work of other engineers is correct also falls on your shoulder. 

While you can get insured through a civil engineer insurance package, the best protection is a specialty structural engineer insurance plan. This solely covers the risks unique to your profession. Read this guide to know what this is, how much premiums cost, and where to get the best coverage. 

Structural Engineer Liability Insurance

You need liability insurance. Liability insurance pertains to policies that grant protection against lawsuits. The most common types of structural engineer liability insurance are general liability, public liability, and professional indemnity policies.


Professional Indemnity Insurance Structural Engineer


CoverWalletNEXTHiscox
Per occurrence limit$1,000,000$1,000,000$250,000/$1,000,000
Aggregate limit$2,000,000$2,000,000$1,000,000
Name additional insureds?YesYesYes
Waiver of subrogation included?YesNoCan be included
Deductible$500$500$50/$10,000


You hold a degree of liability if issues arise because of your output or advice. Because of this, it’s crucial to include a professional indemnity policy in your insurance plan. This is also called PI insurance for short and alternatively, professional liability insurance.

Use the table above to compare the professional indemnity insurance of companies we recommend for structural engineers.

Professional indemnity insurance takes care of expenses if clients have qualms about your services and decide to file a claim. Here are some situations where PI insurance for structural engineers is useful:

  • You failed to recognize errors in the blueprints submitted by an associate. An accident happened because of this, resulting in injuries and significant structural damages to the construction site

  • Columns were wrongfully positioned despite your supervision. The entire construction work has to be halted for a while to make way for adjustments. The client lost a lot of money because of this

  • You failed to submit plans, reports, and blueprints on time because of technical issues, overlapping workloads, etc.


Structural engineer professional liability insurance is available as a claims-made policy or occurrence policy.

Another thing to note is that a professional indemnity insurance might offer defective work coverage and license defense coverage.


General Liability Insurance For Structural Engineers


CoverWalletNEXT (Best)Hiscox
Per occurrence limit$1,000,000$1,000,000$300,000/$2,000,000
Aggregate limit$2,000,000$1,000,000/$2,000,000$300,000/$2,000,000
Products and completed operations aggregate limit
$2,000,000
$1,000,000$1,000,000
Advertising injury coverage aggregate limit$1,000,000$1,000,000$1,000,000
Tenant’s legal liability coverage limit$1,000,000
$100,000$100,000
Waiver of subrogation included?YesNoCan be included
Hired/non-owned auto liability coverage included?YesNoCan be included
Equipment breakdown floater included?NoYesCan be included
Can you get a certificate of insurance online?YesYesYes
Name additional insureds?YesYes
Yes
Deductible$0$0$0


Structural engineer insurance programs offer a general liability policy as a primary coverage. This is also the case with related commercial protection packages such as gas engineer insurance and electrical engineer insurance.

Use the table above to compare the general liability insurance of companies we recommend for structural engineers.

Structural failures are common. Sometimes, these might involve pedestrians, building inspectors, and other third parties. Here are some concrete examples of when general liability insurance can help:

  • A crane is being used to lift a beam. The cable snapped because of the excessive weight. As a result, the beam fell and rolled to a sidewalk near the construction site. Passerby got hurt

  • You were working on a two-story building. During construction, the building collapsed and it damaged nearby structures


General liability insurance accounts for the resulting costs if you’re liable for accidents that result in bodily injuries or property damage. Most structural engineers use general liability insurance to pay for:

  • Medical treatment of injured third parties

  • Reimbursement for the damaged properties of third parties

  • Attorney fees, investigation fees, and other defense costs

  • Court judgments


Similar to the general liability policy of safety consultant insurance plans, the general liability policy of structural engineer insurance plans has automatic add-ons. These are the most common ones:

  • Rented premises liability coverage

  • Products and completed operations coverage

  • Medical expenses coverage


You also get the option of customizing a general liability policy by adding optional policies to it. Insurance companies allow you to avail the following from their structural engineer general liability policy at an additional cost:

  • Hired/non-owned auto liability coverage

  • Tools and equipment coverage

  • Waiver of subrogation

Compare Cheap Structural Engineer Insurance Quotes Online

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Commercial Property Insurance For Structural Engineers


CoverWalletNEXT (Best)Hiscox
Building coverage limit (minimum)$50,000$210,000$25,000
Contents coverage limit (minimum)$50,000$25,000$25,000
Outdoor signsExcluded$2,500Excluded
Accounts receivable ExcludedExcludedIncluded
Money and securitiesExcluded$2,500Included
Lock and keys Excluded$2,500Excluded
Business interruption floaterExcludedIncludedIncluded
Equipment breakdown floaterExcludedIncludedExcluded
Inland marine insurance floaterExcludedExcludedExcluded
Employee dishonesty floaterExcluded$5,000Included

Similar to the insurance program for mechanical engineers, a structural engineer’s insurance plan comes with commercial property insurance. Commercial property insurance is the coverage for the office, co-working space, commercial condo or any other building you’re utilizing in your day-to-day operations as a structural engineer. 

The main function of commercial property insurance is to reimburse the replacement cost or actual cash value of the commercial space if it gets damaged or destroyed by:

  • Fire

  • Theft

  • Vandalism

  • Civil commotion

  • Malicious mischief

  • Sinkhole collapse

  • Volcanic action

  • Weather

  • Lightning

  • Impact

  • Vehicle

  • Aircraft

  • Falling objects


If something happens to the building, it’s rare for what’s inside to remain unscathed. And so, commercial property insurance will also reimburse losses if valuable papers and records, computers, blueprints, cameras, prisms, compasses, magnetic locators, furniture, and other building contents get damaged.  

Note that commercial property insurance doesn’t cover any of the construction projects you’re working on. There’s another type of structural engineer insurance for this purpose. 

Also, you can’t use commercial property insurance to cover business property damage caused by earthquakes, landslides, mudslides, and war. 


Business Owner’s Policy For Structural Engineers 


CoverWalletNEXT (Best)Hiscox
General liability aggregate limit $2,000,000$2,000,000$300,000/$2,000,000
Commercial property coverage limit $50,000$210,000$25,000
Optional policies can be added?YesYesYes
Name additional insureds for free?YesYesYes
BOP discount?YesYesYes


A business owner’s policy might be offered if you’re a structural engineer with a growing business profile. 

Use the table above to compare the business owner’s policy of insurance companies we recommend for structural engineers. 

Insuring yourself against legal liabilities and business property damage is best done with a business owner’s policy rather than purchasing commercial property or general liability insurance as separate policies. 

A business owner’s policy is a combination of general liability insurance and commercial property insurance. That said, you can use this when business property gets damaged by fire or other perils and when third parties file a claim for bodily injuries or property damage. 

Note that it's possible for a business owner’s policy to offer additional structural engineer insurance policies such as professional liability, business interruption, cyber liability, and others. 


Tools And Equipment Insurance For Structural Engineers


NEXT (Best)Hiscox
Aggregate limit$5,000/$10,000$5,000/$25,000
Covers hired and borrowed equipment?$5,000/$10,000No
Miscellaneous equipment also covered?$5,000/$10,000No
Offered as an endorsement to general liability insurance?YesYes
Deductible$500$0

Tools and equipment, whether owned, borrowed, or rented, is always a part of every construction project you’re overseeing as a structural engineer. 

The implements used in the construction process are not cheap. And if these get damaged, lost, or destroyed, you’ll face heavy repair or replacement expenses. 

It’s smart to include a tools and equipment policy in your structural engineer insurance plan. This will cover the cost of repairing or replacing compact tractors, scrapers, welding machines, mixers, drills, and any other equipment that gets destroyed, lost, or damaged because of:

  • Fire

  • Theft

  • Vandalism

  • Mysterious disappearance

  • Electrical shorts

  • Electrical breakdown

  • Mechanical breakdown


Tools and equipment insurance is available as a stand-alone policy that provides up to more than $100,000 coverage. 

You can also get this as an add-on to general liability insurance,  business owner’s policy, or commercial property insurance. However, coverage is very limited if you avail the policy this way. 

Use the table above to compare the tools and equipment insurance of companies we recommend for structural engineers. 


Builders Risk Insurance For Structural Engineers

Builders risk insurance enables you to insure a construction project against the unexpected.

This insurance will protect the construction project during its completion. The coverage of builders risk insurance applies when the structures, materials, or the entire construction project gets damaged or destroyed because of:

  • Fire

  • Theft

  • Vandalism

  • Explosions

  • Impact

  • Employee error 

  • Acts of god

  • Hail


So how does builder's risk insurance work in practice? This insurance will reimburse financial losses based on the estimated value of the construction project, its structures, or materials. 


Latent Defects Insurance For Structural Engineers

Failures in design, workmanship, or calculation can result in defects. The problem is it’s possible for defects to only manifest years later after a construction project has been completed. 

Clients can still run after you in such a situation. This is why it’s a good idea to get latent defects insurance. Latent defects insurance will cover the extra expenses for reworking on a construction project you once completed. 

So how long does the coverage of this insurance last? Latent defects insurance for structural engineers lasts for 10-12 years. 


Inland Marine Insurance For Structural Engineers

Inland marine insurance takes care of portable construction equipment and materials while in transit. If such valuables get damaged or lost during transportation, inland marine insurance will reimburse your losses based on the actual cash value or replacement cost. You can get this insurance as an add-on to general liability, commercial property, or business owner’s policy. 


Workers Compensation Insurance For Structural Engineers

It’s possible to work alone as a structural engineer. However, you’ll eventually need a secretary, an engineering assistant, and maybe even a computer operator to provide better services to clients. 

You need workers compensation insurance as soon as you employ one or more people. Authorities will be after you if you fail to get this coverage for your part-time and full-time employees. 

Workers compensation insurance provides help when an employee sustains an injury or illness such as cuts, burns, musculoskeletal disorders, etc. This policy commonly covers these costs:

  • EMT service

  • Medical treatment

  • Hospitalization

  • Medication

  • Rehabilitation and retraining

  • Lost wages

  • Funeral expense and allowance to dependents in case of death


Workers compensation doesn’t provide automatic coverage to independent contractors, volunteers, and interns. You need to name them as additional insureds for coverage to take effect. Nonetheless, authorities don't require you to cover such workers with workers compensation insurance. 


Commercial Auto Insurance For Structural Engineers

Consider insuring the dump trucks, flatbed trucks, bucket trucks, concrete mixer trucks, and other vehicles you use for a construction project with commercial auto insurance. 

Commercial auto insurance shields you if something happens while construction vehicles are running. Here’s a quick summary of this policy’s functions:

  • Cover the medical treatment of third parties if your construction vehicles cause a vehicular accident

  • Cover the medical treatment of the driver and passengers if your construction vehicles get involved in an accident caused by an uninsured/underinsured driver

  • Cater to the repair or replacement costs if your construction vehicles sustains damage because of fire, theft, falling objects, collision, weather, and other covered perils

  • Cater to the repair or replacement cost of attachments to the construction vehicles that sustains damage because of fire, theft, falling objects, collision, weather, and other covered perils


Note that you can’t only use commercial auto insurance to cover owned construction vehicles. Vehicles borrowed or under lease can be also covered by this insurance. 

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Structural Engineer Insurance Cost


Cost per MonthCost per YearDeductible
General liability insurance$45$540$0-$500
Professional liability insurance$56$672$500-$1,000
Commercial property insurance$47$564$1,000-$2,500
Business owner’s policy$80$960$500-$1,000
Commercial auto insurance$99$1,188$1,000-$1,500
Workers compensation insurance$110$1,320$2,000-$5,000
Inland marine insurance$59$708$1,500


The average structural engineer insurance cost is $45 per month or $540 annually for a $1 million general liability policy. A carrier considers numerous factors that affect the cost of your premiums. These factors include: 

  • Business location 

  • Annual projected revenue

  • Policy limits and deductibles 

  • Business property and equipment

  • Number of employees 

  • The type of policy you purchase 


Here’s another table that shows how much the best structural engineer insurance companies charge for a $1 million general liability policy:


Cost per MonthCost per YearBest for
NEXT$25$300Best overall; Fastest general liability insurance for structural engineers
CoverWallet$30$360Structural engineer insurance online quotes comparison
Tivly$35$420Comparing insurance quotes over the phone
Hiscox$41.56$498.72Insurance for structural engineers that renews automatically
Hall & Company$70$840Structural engineer professional indemnity insurance

 

For a more accurate estimate, you can compare structural engineer insurance quotes online. Start by clicking the "Get Quotes" button to get the cheapest rates from the best companies.  


Compare Cheap Structural Engineer Insurance Quotes Online

Get all the best quotes from leading providers in a click of a button!

Best Structural Engineer Insurance Companies 

Finding the most suitable structural engineer insurance for your company is critical. There's no shortage of insurance companies, but we have narrowed it down to some of the best to make it easier for you to select. Read to know their pros, cons, and monthly pricing for a $1 million general liability coverage


NEXT Structural Engineer Insurance

Pros

  • Best overall

  • Get an online proof of insurance and send as a text message, email, or social media post

  • Fastest general liability insurance for structural engineers 

  • Great customer service and reputation

  • Issues an online proof of insurance instantly

  • Outstanding value for money

  • Bundle two or more insurance policies and get a 10% discount

Cons

  • Couldn’t find any

NEXT doesn’t have tailored structural engineer insurance. However, the company will cover you through its tailored engineering insurance. Inclusions are general liability insurance, commercial auto insurance, workers’ compensation insurance, and commercial property insurance. 

Know that there’s a 10% discount if you buy more than one type of business insurance from NEXT. Also, this company is the best option if you’re particular about certificates of insurance. Upon getting insured, you can get a live certificate of insurance via the NEXT website or app and send it as a text message, email, or social media post.

Best for: Best overall; Fastest general liability insurance for structural engineers 

Average cost: $25 per month 

Our rating: 10/10


Coverwallet Structural Engineer Insurance

Pros

  • Well-organized and easy to use with an online policy management system. 

  • Easy to reach customer support and agents 

  • A top commercial insurer 

Cons 

  • Coverwallet is an online brokerage firm, not a carrier 

Coverwallet is an excellent option for structural engineering businesses looking to manage their insurance policies. It offers the best quote comparison and comprehensive insurance solutions at affordable and competitive prices. 

Note that CoverWallet doesn’t have tailored insurance for structural engineers. Instead, it sells specialized insurance available for all kinds of engineers. This is available in four insurance plans:

  • Basic-Allows you to get insured with general liability insurance with products and completed operations. You can’t get other business insurance if you go for this one. The basic plan is a good choice for independent structural engineers 

  • Standard-The standard plan is also a good match for independent structural engineers. In this one, you can decide to get general liability insurance and professional indemnity insurance 

  • Pro-CoverWallet’s pro plan is a business owner’s policy that offers general liability insurance and professional liability insurance with commercial property insurance - get this one if you’re running a startup structural engineering firm 

  • Pro plus-This is a custom plan where you’re free to get all insurance products CoverWallet sells to customers 


Best for: Structural engineer insurance online quotes comparison 

Average cost: $30 per month 

Our rating: 10/10


Tivly Structural Engineer Insurance

Pros

  • Responsive customer service

  • Compare quotes over the phone

  • A partner of many reputable insurance companies

Cons

  • You need to call to get a quote

Tivly doesn’t have a structural engineer insurance program. However, you might get covered through this company’s contractor’s insurance package that offers general liability, commercial property, builders risk, and other insurance policies. Call Tivly now to talk with a representative and compare quotes over the phone. 

Best for: Comparing insurance quotes over the phone

Average cost: $35 per month

Our rating: 10/10


Hiscox Structural Engineer Insurance

Pros

  • Automatic policy renewal

  • 14-day money-back guarantee

  • Upgrades can be included in your policies

  • Worldwide coverage

Cons

  • Doesn’t offer commercial property insurance as a stand-alone coverage

Hiscox doesn’t offer a structural engineer insurance package. Just like NEXT, it grants coverage through its engineer insurance plan, which offers general liability, professional liability, cyber liability, and business owner’s policies.

Hiscox’s general liability insurance has a $300,000-$2 million per occurrence limit. You can choose to include upgrades such as tools and equipment coverage, waiver of subrogation, and hired/non-owned auto liability coverage. 

This company’s professional liability insurance, on the other hand, offers $250,000-$1 million per occurrence limit. Upgrades are also available. 

As Hiscox’s business owner’s policy, this offers a general liability coverage with a $300,000-$2 million per occurrence limit and a commercial property insurance  with a $25,000 minimum coverage for the building and its contents. 

Best for: Insurance for structural engineers that renews automatically

Average cost: $41.56 per month

Our rating: 9/10


Hall And Company Structural Engineer Insurance

Pros 

  • You can quickly get quotes online 

  • Insightful and helpful customer support 

  • Specializes in engineering firms 

Cons 

  • Doesn’t issue an online quote 

Hall and Company specializes in professional liability insurance for structural engineering and other engineering fields. The company also provides other types of insurance coverage. The company provides insurance quotes from multiple companies so that you have plenty of coverage comparisons at your disposal. 

Hall and Company excels in providing clients with meaningful input, responsive service, and thoughtful options, helping you develop customized covers that provide your structural engineering company with adequate coverage. 

Best for: Structural engineer professional indemnity insurance

Average cost: $70 per month 

Our rating: 8/10


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