Anna founded a nine-person architecture practice in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood. Most of its work is custom homes and small commercial buildings. Then the firm was shortlisted for a community center for a local parks district, and the request for proposals required $3 million of professional liability.
The firm carried $1 million. Anna's plan was simple: buy a $2 million umbrella on top and meet the requirement cheaply.
What she asked for
A quote for a $2 million umbrella.
What the review found
A commercial umbrella does not sit over professional liability. A commercial umbrella adds limits above general liability, commercial auto, and employers liability. It specifically excludes professional services. An umbrella would have added $2 million of protection against slip and fall claims while leaving the design error exposure, the one the parks district was asking about, at $1 million.
The firm's general liability had a professional services exclusion that was broader than it needed to be. Some GL forms for design firms exclude any claim "arising out of" professional services, which can swallow ordinary accidents like a staff member knocking over equipment during a site visit.
Project-specific requirements were coming. Public owners often want limits dedicated to their project so another client's claim cannot exhaust them.
What we put in place
We raised the firm's professional liability directly, placing a primary limit plus an excess professional liability layer that follows the primary policy's terms. That is the structure that actually meets a professional liability requirement above the primary limit. We preserved the firm's retroactive date through the change.
We replaced the general liability with a form built for design professionals, with a narrower professional services exclusion, and confirmed it named the parks district as an additional insured the way the contract required.
We did add a commercial umbrella, but for the right reason: the contract also required excess liability over general liability and auto, since staff drive to construction sites. The umbrella meets that requirement and nothing more.
For the community center, we priced a project-specific professional policy as an alternative, so Anna could compare its cost against the firm-wide increase and decide which to include in the fee.
Why it mattered
The firm won the project. Its proposal included a certificate that matched the requirement line by line, and the district's risk manager had no follow-up questions. Just as important, the extra premium bought protection for design errors on every project, not an umbrella that would have sat unused above the wrong policy.
If you run a design or engineering firm
- An umbrella does not raise professional liability limits; excess professional does
- Keep your retroactive date through every change of carrier or limit
- Ask how broad your GL's professional services exclusion is
- Price project-specific coverage for large public work
More on professional services firms. Responding to an RFP with insurance requirements? Get a free policy review before you submit.