PROFESSIONAL
PRACTICE
Assignment 2
Important Areas of Understanding
Additional Understanding
Critical Review of the Assignment
Presentation of Interviews
(Electrical & Mechanical Engieers)
The Commission Stage
Student Contribution
Additional Interview
The intention of this assignment was to expose the students to the type of procurement of Professional Indemnity Insurance of the Built Environment and Engineering Professionals. We were asked to obtain the current trends of the Built Environment and Engineering Professionals and determine the how professionals in the industry went about obtaining Professional Indemnity Insurance. Our group was responsible for interviewing two Mechanical or Electrical Engineers to get their advice and opinions on how they’ve dealt with their Professional Indemnity Insurance. This would enable us to establish current trends and engage in active research.
Although we focused on the Mechanical and Electrical Engineers, there were other channels investigated as to how the Quantity Surveyors have been commissioned. These include the following:
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Quantity Surveyors
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Architects
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Civil and Structural Engineers
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Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
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Project Managers
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Professional Indemnity Insurance Companies
The findings of this research was then posted onto the UCT Vula portal as a cumulative ‘class project’, where specific groups had focussed on specific areas of research mentioned above.
I found that we were able to complete this assignment relatively successfully. We were able to work well as a group and produced a satisfactory narrated PowerPoint presentation. As seen above, our presentation was uploaded to YouTube and is accessible by all. As with all assignments, there is always room for improvement, and with critically analysing our presentation, we could have put more effort into the type of presentation layout. I feel that additional research into PI Insurance, before conducting the assignment, would have helped in creating more challenging questions for the interviewees. This would’ve perhaps produced more interesting result. Nevertheless, our assignment was well conducted and presented.
The questions that we asked our interviewees were able to give a tangible understanding of how Professional Indemnity Insurance is obtained by real-world professionals and how it has become an essential part of all professional careers going forward. Mr Du Toit (one of our group’s interviewees) indicated the importance of PI Insurance and stated the main reasons for this insurance are to “indemnify us for our legal liability to pay Compensation to a third party arising out of our business as a result of a claim first made against us during the contract period”. It was also interesting to note that PI Insurance is not something that professionals think is a ‘good idea’ to have and that it actually forms part of contractual requirements. However the ECSA does not make it mandatory for its members to have.
PI Insurance varies depending on the type of insurance package taken out with the insurance company, but it will usually have a limit as to how much cover it will provide for the defence’s costs. Insurance brokers will need personal information with regards to the individual requesting PI Insurance and will need to know information such as the detail of the business’ activity, the services rendered, annual generated revenue, history of claims, and possible proof of registration to affiliations, etc.