Boundary and set-out
Claims where a structure or fence was built to an incorrect position.
Surveyor Professional Indemnity
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Surveyor Professional Indemnity
Professional indemnity for licensed land, cadastral and spatial surveyors.
A surveying error is rarely cheap to fix, because something has usually been built on it. A boundary set out half a metre wrong, a floor level that will not drain, or an identification survey that misses an encroachment can mean demolition and rebuilding rather than a corrected drawing. Professional indemnity generally responds to that rectification claim, subject to the policy terms.
What is it?
Surveyors carry out cadastral and boundary work, construction set-out, subdivision plans, identification surveys, engineering survey and, increasingly, aerial, laser scanning and spatial data capture. Cadastral surveying is a licensed activity administered by a surveyors board in each state and territory, and registration conditions commonly include holding professional indemnity insurance. Practices range from sole licensed surveyors to multi-office spatial firms.
What does surveyor professional indemnity cover?
Levels and engineering survey
Exposure from height, grade and drainage errors on a site.
Identification and plans
Claims about encroachments missed or plans prepared and lodged incorrectly.
What affects the cost?
- Licensed cadastral work versus construction survey
- Project types and development values
- Fee income
- Number of licensed surveyors
- Claims history
Worth raising on the call
- Rectification is the real cost, and it usually exceeds the survey fee many times over.
- Errors often surface at construction stage, sometimes years after the survey was done.
- Drone and aerial capture may need to be declared as a separate activity.
Claims we are commonly asked about
Dwelling built over the boundary
A set-out is transposed from the wrong reference mark and a new house ends up several hundred millimetres across a side boundary. The neighbour will not agree to an easement or a boundary adjustment, so the wall has to be cut back and rebuilt.
Floor level set too low to drain
Finished floor level is established below the height needed for stormwater to fall to the legal point of discharge, and it is only discovered once the slab is poured. The builder claims the cost of a pumped system or a re-pour, plus the delay it causes.
Encroachment missed before settlement
An identification survey prepared for a purchase does not pick up a neighbour's carport crossing the boundary. The buyer settles on the strength of the report, then claims the cost of resolving the encroachment and the reduction in value.
Worth confirming in the wording
- Worth confirming how rectification, demolition and rebuilding costs are treated, since these routinely dwarf the survey fee that generated them.
- Worth confirming the retroactive date, because a set-out done years earlier may only produce a claim when the site is finally developed.
- Worth confirming whether drone capture, laser scanning and spatial data services are declared activities rather than assumed to sit within surveying.
Common questions
Is professional indemnity required to practise as a registered surveyor?
Cadastral surveying is a licensed activity administered by a surveyors board in each state and territory, and registration conditions in several jurisdictions include holding professional indemnity insurance. Requirements and minimum limits differ, so check the current standard with the board you are registered under.
Who is liable if the builder ignored my pegs?
It depends on the evidence. Where a builder set out from its own marks, moved pegs or built without checking, responsibility may sit largely or wholly with the builder, and insurers investigate the site records closely. Contributory responsibility is common in these disputes and the outcome turns on the facts rather than a general rule.
How long after a survey can I still be claimed against?
Longer than most people expect. Errors often surface at construction stage, sometimes many years after the plan was issued, and cover is generally written on a claims-made basis so a live policy is needed when the claim is made. Statutory limitation periods vary by state and by the type of claim.
What does surveyor professional indemnity cost?
It depends on the practice rather than a standard rate. The main drivers are the split between licensed cadastral work and construction survey, the project types and development values you work on, fee income, the number of licensed surveyors, and your claims history.
General information only. Cover, limits and exclusions depend on the PDS, TMD, eligibility, underwriting and the policy terms. See professional indemnity insurance for the wider picture.
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