Important articles in the field of professional liability insurance for the engineering industries

The inspection company unfortunately discovered that Murphy's Law is once again working overtime in the construction industry. It found itself dealing with a claim filed for approximately 2.5 million shekels without insurance.

2024 is already here and the changes in the world of construction insurance also concern liability insurance, including professional liability insurance for engineers, construction workers and construction workers. What are the highlights worth knowing, where is the market going and what awaits us? We will briefly discuss this in the following article.

Projects according to TAMA 38 are unique to the construction landscape in Israel. They are considered popular and constitute an effective solution for promoting the renewal of the urban space.

As of 2021, according to data from the Government Authority for Urban Renewal, there are approximately 200,000 housing units in Israel that are undergoing renewal processes within the framework of TAMA 38 and evacuation and construction.

Construction work on existing buildings can cause damage to existing property (the property being worked on). For example, damage resulting from adding a balcony to a residential building, damage to the ceilings of upper floors when building a rooftop apartment unit, damage to roofs due to the installation of solar systems, and even damage during the renovation of an apartment/office/store.

According to data recently published by the Renovation Contractors Association, there are approximately 17,000 "small-job" contractors operating in Israel. It is also reported that the industry generates approximately 15 billion shekels annually, and that renovations are carried out in more than 300,000 households.

The Haifa District Court recently (June 2020) received a ruling that constitutes a glaring warning sign regarding the importance inherent in the nature of professional liability insurance for engineers, civil engineers, and architects (Ta 3071-07-16). We will briefly review the case story, and draw from it implications relevant to our case, regarding the dramatic significance that professional liability insurance may have for those involved in planning.

Contractors and developers operating in the construction industry should ensure that they are constantly and continuously insured with professional liability and product liability policies....

In most insurance companies, a professional liability policy is divided into two main sections. The first section, which is designed to protect the insured and provide coverage against claims for professional negligence, and another section that provides protection and insurance coverage against claims...

Delivering a building with construction defects could result in huge claims against everyone involved in the construction process, from the developer or management company that promoted the project, to the planners or supervisors, and of course, the operating contractor.

An entrepreneurial construction company entered into a tender with the Ministry of Housing to build 106 housing units. As the project progressed, it became clear that due to the negligent architectural planning on which the tender was based, only some of the units would be able to be built (due to proximity to a main road).

Why did the court sentence an engineer convicted of causing death by negligence to life in prison, and what does the sentence teach us about the trend in rulings against fatal negligence in the construction industry?

Although professional liability and product liability insurance are of critical importance for planners and contractors, they are often dealt with from the perspective of contractual requirements....

One of the common phenomena regarding professional liability insurance for those engaged in the planning and engineering professions is that, although it is one of the most significant tools for the engineer, architect or civil engineer....