Adaptation Needed as PLI Costs Rise

Engineering Inc. magazine

The 2023 PLI Carrier Survey finds the severity of insurance claims against firms have increased — along with premiums

The severity of insurance claims against engineering firms is on the rise, and it’s likely that many firms will see rate increases in the coming months. They will also experience greater scrutiny by professional liability insur­ance (PLI) carriers in determining coverage.

Those are some of the key findings of the 2023 survey of PLI carriers by ACEC, the American Institute of Architects Trust, and the National Society of Professional Engineers.

CLAIMS TRENDS

There has been an uptick in the severity of claims being made against large engineering firms that work on horizontal infrastructure projects, such as highways and bridges, says Jackie Neal, executive vice president at insur­ance provider Berkley Design Professional.

“Many of these claims involve parties that have been injured or killed in vehicle accidents,” Neal says. “In today’s legal environment, these matters are impacted by social inflation and other variables that have a dramatic impact on the damages alleged and the dollar amounts required to negotiate a settlement. Further complicating mat­ters is the trend of ‘nuclear verdicts’ being handed down by the courts.”

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