Professional Indemnity

At MUM, we include everything from estate and letting agency through to land management and residential or commercial valuing as falling within this category. Members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) and the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) have mandatory rules regarding Professional Indemnity Insurance and there is an Approved Insurer list in the case of RICS.

We also write surveyors who undertake residential survey and valuation work. We  focus on good quality risks and do not restrict ourselves just to firms with small amounts of valuation work. We are not interested in inner city commercial valuers, or firms where they have valued properties in excess of £2.5M value, but focus on well-run firms that value properties that are under £1M in value.

MUM underwrites on behalf of Great Lakes Insurance SE, Zurich Insurance PLC and, for valuers, International General Insurance Company (UK) Limited (rated A- by A M Best), both of which are on the RICS Approved Insurer list, and we offer cover that complies with their rules, as well as those of the NAEA and ARLA. MUM also offers cover to property consultancies whose principals are not members of these bodies.

• The insured estate agent advised a client to sell a farm by auction. The client later alleged that a higher price could have been obtained if the land and buildings had been sold separately. Amount paid: £35,000

• The insured chartered surveyor valued a client’s house at in excess of £500,000; it was subsequently marketed and the client purchased two properties in anticipation of a quick sale. The house was overvalued, however, and after a long delay was sold for a substantially lower price. A claim was brought for the cost of bridging finance and other expenses incurred as a result. Amount paid: £50,000

• The insured was managing a client’s property and replaced the clay roof with concrete tiles. Planning permission should have been obtained. The local authority required that the clay tiles be refitted. Amount paid: £20,000

• The insured auctioneer was requested to sell a property at auction. A third party alleged that the property was sold without his authority as owner. Amount paid: £40,000

• The insured quantity surveyor prepared cost forecasts in connection with the construction of a number of restaurants at the start of each project. It was alleged that the monthly and year-end costing and forecasts were inadequate. Amount paid: £65,000