RICS UAE Board Annual Magazine 2010-11

Professional Indemnity Update for Surveyors and Valuers
Howden Insurance
In established litigious territories over the world, such as the US, the UK, Europe & Australia, Surveyors and
Valuers have a bad name in the Professional Indemnity (PI) Insurance market. At the first sign of economic
difficulties and a fall in property values, these Valuers bear the brunt of the blame for financial losses suffered by
individuals and lenders. This blame is shouldered by their Professional Indemnity Insurers, whose payments of
large losses results in increased premiums being charged back to the valuation firms.
Contrary to popular belief, this situation is yet to seriously arise on a mass scale in the UAE. The benign litigation
culture and restrictive terms of valuation reports have protected the valuation firms from the large numbers of
losses seen in other territories. You may not believe this when you are trying to obtain cover however…
There are a limited number of Insurers who will actually insure Middle East based businesses for PI Insurance.
This applies to branch offices of global surveying firms who purchase local ‘deductible in-fill’ policies as well as
local organisations buying their full cover. Of these Insurers, your broker needs to identify the key Insurers (or
Reinsurers) who do not have a view tainted by losses suffered in other territories.
As is usual when the insurance market changes, there is very little lead in time. Deals disappear overnight as (re)
insurers pull out with immediate effect. This potentially can leave surveying firms with no PI cover if their broker
is not capable of controlling the market and securing terms. This situation is usually worsened when the client
panics as they search for alternative insurers and brokers, which leads to a flooding of the market, which in
turns weakens the clients credibility and ability to secure coverage.
Howden Insurance Brokers LLC are the Dubai based branch of a UK Lloyd’s Broker, Howden Insurance Brokers
Ltd. Howden specialise in PI Insurance and are the RICS recommended advisor to RICS member firms based in
the Middle East as well as in the UK.
No other firm is better qualified to take care of your PI needs.
Please contact Richard Wynn at Howden Insurance Brokers LLC for any assistance with your PI Insurance.
P: +971 (0)4 357 3835 M: +971 (0)50 557 9987 e: richard.wynn@howdendubai.com
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
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