Professional Surveyors Canada

Professional Liability Insurance Committee (PLIC)

By Michael Kidston, BCLS, CLS, member of PSC Professional Liability Insurance Committee

The PLI Committee of Professional Surveyors Canada meets twice annually with the broker and the Managing General Agent to review all claims made, progress on large claims, and any issues related to professional liability insurance.

At our meeting on March 9, it was once again evident that the large majority of errors and claims were related to construction layout, especially in Western Canada. This is a reminder that extra precaution and checking should be applied to this activity, and that any modifications or discrepancies in plans issued for construction should be flagged, confirmed with the plan authors (architects, engineers, contractors), and with the contractors or job foremen.

A useful discussion took place to confirm that for crews working in rural properties and especially in the oil production industry, that locating underground infrastructure was a normal and regular part of survey practice.

The PLIC also met with an actuarial firm to review the rates used to calculate premiums for professional liability insurance, and to discuss industry loss ratios that indicate rates charged and industry norms for this sort of coverage. The actuary confirmed that the insurance market is “hardening” (just look at recent news about home and condo insurance) and that an average 6% increase in the base rates for the 2020-21 PSC Insurance Program would be below the industry average.

Many professions have various forms of self-insurance for professional errors and omissions. The professional liability insurance program offered by the Association of Ontario Land Surveyors have this model, and it has proven to lower premiums over time; however it takes at least five years to create a sufficient surplus to be able to return some direct savings to members and still maintain funds for a highclaims year. Ontario has sufficient members to maintain a self-insured retention fund; for PSC to adopt this model all remaining provinces would have to agree to “all in” participation in the insurance program. The PLIC is continuing to explore how this might work to ensure that surveyors can maximize the benefits of good practice, which reduce claims and lead to lower professional liability premiums. ✥