Car Insurance

It’s the common theme in architects’ bad dreams, the stuff of tortured visions in the night. That vinyl wall coveting a developer used in your condo design becomes a breeding ground for virulent mold. A roof leak ruins a client’s priceless painting. A crack appears in the foundation wall of a million-dollar home.

When you’re an architect, the possible scenarios for getting sued are omnipresent. And as one of life’s unpleasantries, a spec or installation gone wrong ranks right up there with a house fire or a car accident. Not only can a claim cost thousands of dollars and damage your reputation, but the process of defending yourself disrupts your productivity and your peace of mind.

Residential claims against small architecture firms are growing at a steady pace, especially among condominium projects, according to a survey conducted by Victor O. Schinnerer & Company, an insurance firm in Chevy Chase, Md. Between 1996 and 2000, the number of claims the company paid involving condo projects increased at an annual rate of 17 percent, compared to 6 percent for all building projects. Even litigation involving townhouse and single-family home projects, considered relatively trouble-free, increased annually by 15 percent. Think about your liabilities too much, and you might start questioning the clients in your life, not to mention your creative freedom.

Yet despite the wild cards inherent in residential design, there’s a lot you can do to protect yourself. Many architects have figured out how to institute safeguards–through contract language, office checklists, and that ultimate preventative measure, managing clients–that let them sleep easier at night.

piece of the rock

Professional liability insurance, also called errors and omissions, is the funding source for the truly scary types of claims, those that can result in big money. And it’s expensive–not only in monthly premiums, but because you have to purchase it for the long term to keep from throwing your money away. “You have to have the insurance when you make the mistake and when the claim comes up nine years later,” says architect and attorney Charles Heuer, FAIA, of the Heuer Law Group based in Charlottesville, Va. How much should you buy? “How much can you afford?” responds Heuer, who also runs the AIA’s Legal Line (e-mail, legaline1@aol.com). Some architects feel the threat of claims never goes away, even after they retire.