USA and Canada engineering work can receive additional Professional Indemnity underwriting attention, but the two countries should not be treated as identical.
For USA exposure, insurers may be particularly concerned about:
- state-based professional licensing
- litigation and defence-cost exposure
- contractual indemnities and liability provisions
- governing law and dispute jurisdiction
- project size and sector
Canadian exposure can also require specific insurer approval, and some policy wordings group Canada with the USA for territorial or jurisdictional restrictions. However, Canadian engineering regulation is provincial and territorial, and the legal and insurance position is not simply the same as the United States.
The practical point is to disclose the country, state or province, project type, contract and governing law rather than describing the exposure broadly as ‘North America’.
The insurer can then confirm whether the work is acceptable under existing terms or whether specific conditions, endorsements or additional information are required.
For regulatory context, see NCEES guidance on US engineering licensure and Engineers Canada’s directory of provincial and territorial regulators.
