By Fabian P. Dahinten
The loyal readers among you probably still remember my first attempt at junior membership in the Chamber of Architects, or as it is so self-explanatory in Hessen: “cand. akh ”. However, my project could not be implemented so quickly because I work as a freelancer and then proof of an existing liability insurance is necessary. I haven’t had that yet. In today’s issue I will take you on my way to professional liability insurance and report on a few insights that I have gained.
First, I asked myself why I need professional liability insurance if, as a junior member, I don’t even have a building permit. Most of the time I work for larger offices, so these projects are covered by their liability. So I turned to my future chamber and spoke to Thomas Harion, managing director of the legal department of the Hesse Chamber of Architects and Urban Planners.
Large and small building submission authorization
My first mistake: I am allowed to do more than I thought, because the building submission authorization that I get with regular entry into the chamber is the major building submission authorization. Now I already have the so-called small building submission authorization. With this I can already plan a lot and submit it to the building supervision: for example, residential buildings with up to two residential units and a total of 200 square meters of living space; or single-storey commercial buildings with a maximum gross floor area of 200 square meters and a wall height of three meters.
But be careful! The scope of the small building submission authorization is regulated differently in each federal state. Regardless of this, it makes perfect sense to take out professional liability insurance if I already have smaller construction projects. Another reason for the necessity of professional liability for junior membership is consumer protection, according to Thomas Harion. Because the Hessian Architects and Urban Planners Act regulates that every member of the Hessian Chamber needs professional liability insurance. And as “cand. akh ”I would also be a member of the Chamber.
The best way to get professional liability insurance is individual advice
In order not to spend too much money that I don’t yet earn, I looked for eight insurance companies that offer architects professional liability insurance from the Internet and wrote to them. So much in advance: In my opinion, online offers are not useful. Not only did I despair of the infinite form input, it just didn’t fit my needs. Because I am only just beginning my professional activity, I need flexible professional liability insurance. So the lowest possible basic fee and if projects come, then, depending on the project size, a so-called project security.
Those who answered me by phone or personal email specialize in insurance for architects and engineers. And during a personal consultation, it even came out that it makes sense for me to take one more step before taking professional liability insurance. So I can only recommend you to get individual advice from professionals. In one of the next columns I will tell you what finally came out for me.
Fabian P. Behind studied architecture at the Darmstadt College and is now starting his professional life.
Here you can find all of Fabian’s columns for the next generation.
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