Changing Professional Indemnity insurers does not automatically remove cover for an engineer’s earlier work, but continuity needs to be handled carefully.
Before changing insurer, check:
- the retroactive date on the new policy
- whether prior work is within that retroactive period
- whether any claims or circumstances need to be notified to the existing insurer before expiry
- whether the new insurer has imposed any prior-knowledge or prior-notification exclusions
- whether the business structure or professional services have changed
The critical issue is not simply who insured the engineer when the work was performed.
With claims-made-and-notified cover, a later claim may fall to the policy in force when the claim is made and notified, subject to its terms and any earlier notifications.
Engineers should avoid changing insurers without first reviewing open issues, circumstances and the proposed retroactive date so historical work does not unintentionally fall into a gap.
