Insurance for Project Managers
Professional indemnity and liability insurance for project managers, arranged by a specialist broker.
Call Us: 1300 900 207
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What Insurance Do Project Managers Need?
Project managers need professional indemnity insurance as their core cover, because your work is advice and decisions, and a client claiming those cost them money is a professional indemnity claim. Public liability covers you on site and when meeting clients, and management liability and cyber protect the business itself. Whether you manage construction, IT, engineering or business projects, many clients and principals require professional indemnity before you start.
Why Project Managers Use a Broker
Project management contracts set insurance requirements that don’t always match an off-the-shelf policy: minimum PI limits, project-specific PI, principal’s interests and run-off. We read the contract with you, compare specialist PI insurers, and set your cover to match before you sign.
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Who We Cover
We arrange insurance for:
- Construction project managers and construction managers
- Development managers
- Contract and self-employed site managers
- Engineering project managers
- IT and software project managers
- Business and change project managers
- Project management firms and consultancies
We cover project managers working across construction, civil engineering, building services (electrical, HVAC and acoustic), architecture and design, landscape, surveying, agriculture, IT and business.
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What Does Project Management Insurance Cover?
Professional Indemnity
Covers claims that your advice, decisions or management caused a client financial loss, such as a scheduling error, a cost plan that misses major items, a contract administration or certification mistake, or poor coordination between consultants. Specialist PI policies can also cover lost or damaged project documents, and accidental intellectual property infringement or defamation arising from your work.
Legal Defence Costs
Covers lawyers and the cost of investigating and defending a claim against you, even if the claim has no merit.
Public Liability
Covers injury to people or damage to their property during your work, such as a visitor tripping over your equipment on site or damage you cause at a client’s premises.
Project-Specific PI
A long-term policy for one construction project, covering the parties engaged in delivering it for the project and beyond, separate from your annual policy. A project contract may require it. See our guide to project-specific professional indemnity.
Run-Off Cover
Keeps you covered for past projects after you retire, close your business or move into an employed role.
Management Liability
Covers the business and its directors against claims about how the business is run, including employment disputes with staff.
Cyber Insurance
Covers data breaches and attacks on your systems and the client files you hold, important for IT project managers.
Workers' Compensation and Personal Accident
Workers’ compensation covers injuries to your employees, and it’s compulsory if you employ staff. Self-employed project managers usually aren’t covered by workers’ compensation for their own injuries, so personal accident and illness cover replaces your income if you can’t work.
Request a Project Manager Insurance Quote
For immediate response please give us a call.
Our team continues to work remotely but you are welcome to arrange an appointment with one of our consultants.
Get A Quote
Complete the form to request a QUOTE. Call us at 1300 900 207 for an immediate response.
Construction Project Management Insurance
Construction project managers carry a long tail of risk, because claims about building work can arrive years after a project is finished. Defective building work claims can be brought up to 10 years after completion in NSW, and up to 10 years after the occupancy permit in Victoria.
Professional indemnity covers claims made while the policy is in force, not when the work was done, so two things matter as much as your limit:
- Your retroactive date: the earliest date of work your policy covers. An unlimited retroactive date covers all your past projects.
- Run-off cover: keeps you protected for past projects after you stop project managing.
How Much Professional Indemnity Cover Do Project Managers Need?
Your client or principal often sets the minimum in the contract. Your limit should also cover the largest project you’re likely to manage during the year, because a single claim can relate to a whole project. Specialist construction PI underwriters offer limits up to $20 million, with higher limits available on request. Project managers on commercial, infrastructure and development projects generally need higher limits than those on smaller residential work.
What Affects the Cost?
Project manager insurance averages around $2,600 a year, and can exceed $5,000 for larger or higher-risk projects. Your premium depends on:
- The industry you work in: construction, civil and engineering project management generally costs more to insure than IT or business projects.
- Your limit of indemnity: a higher limit costs more.
- Fee income and project size.
- Claims history and experience.
- Contract requirements: some clients require higher limits or project-specific PI.
Project Manager Insurance Gaps We Cover
| Common gap | What can happen | How we cover it |
|---|---|---|
| Limit below the contract minimum | You can’t start, or you breach the contract | We match your limit to the contract before you sign |
| Project-specific PI required | The contract requires a single project policy, not your annual PI | We arrange project-specific PI on the terms required |
| Limited retroactive date | A claim about an earlier project isn’t covered | We set your retroactive date to cover your past work |
| Stopping work | A claim arrives after you retire or close, and your policy has ended | We arrange run-off cover |
| Contractual indemnities | You agree to liability beyond what the law requires, which standard PI excludes | We review the contract’s indemnity clauses and add a contractual liability extension where available |
| Consultants you engage | A consultant you engage makes an error, and the claim comes back to you | We check every consultant holds their own PI |
| Site visits | Someone is injured on site in a way that isn’t caused by your professional services | We add public liability |
| Client data | A breach exposes client files or systems | We add cyber cover |
Project Manager Insurance FAQs
Do project managers need professional indemnity insurance?
Yes. Project managers are paid for judgement, and the biggest risk is a client claiming your decisions cost them money. Professional indemnity covers those claims, and many clients and principals require it before you start.
How much does project manager insurance cost?
Project manager insurance averages around $2,600 a year, and can exceed $5,000 for larger or higher-risk projects. Your premium depends on the industry you work in, the size and type of projects you manage, the risks involved, the limit of liability you choose, your fee income, the number of staff you employ, your claims history, your retroactive date, and how many additional covers you package with it. Construction and engineering project managers generally pay more than IT and business project managers.
What's the difference between professional indemnity and public liability for a project manager?
Professional indemnity covers claims arising from your professional services, mainly financial loss from your advice and management decisions, and it can also cover injury or property damage caused by your professional services. Public liability covers injury and property damage from your business activities that aren’t professional services, such as a visitor tripping over your equipment on site.
Do site managers need their own insurance?
Self-employed and contracting site managers who make decisions a client relies on need their own professional indemnity and public liability. Site managers employed by a builder are covered under the builder’s policies for work they do as employees, but only for the covers the builder holds. If the builder doesn’t hold professional indemnity, an employed site manager has no PI cover through them.
Do I need my own insurance if I'm employed as a project manager?
Generally not for work you do as an employee. Professional indemnity and public liability policies cover the business’s employees for work done for the business, as long as your employer holds those covers. Freelance, contract and self-employed project managers working under their own ABN need their own professional indemnity and public liability.
Does professional indemnity cover IT project managers?
Yes. A claim that your management caused a delayed go-live, a budget blowout or a failed implementation is the kind of claim professional indemnity is designed to cover. IT project managers should also consider cyber cover.
What is project-specific professional indemnity?
A PI policy covering the consultants on one project only, separate from annual policies, sometimes required by principals and developers on larger projects. See our project-specific PI guide.
Do I need run-off cover if I stop project managing?
Yes, especially if you’ve managed construction projects. Your PI policy only covers claims made while it’s in force, and claims about past projects can arrive years later.
What Isn't Covered?
- Known claims and circumstances: anything you were aware of before the policy started.
- Work before your retroactive date.
- Your own fraud, dishonesty or intentional wrongdoing. Specialist PI policies can protect innocent insureds from a colleague’s dishonesty.
- Contractual liability beyond your legal duty: guarantees and indemnities that go further than the law requires, unless a contractual liability extension is added.
- Fines and penalties.
- Insolvency: losses from your own business failing.
Why Project Managers Choose Coverscope
- Specialist professional indemnity insurers through the Steadfast network
- Contracts reviewed so your cover matches before you sign
- Annual PI, project-specific PI and run-off arranged in one place
- Claims support from notification through to settlement
Call 1300 900 207 or request a quote online, and we’ll compare specialist PI insurers for you.
Get in Touch
Simply fill in the form below and we’ll be in touch shortly, or feel free to call and tell us about your specific requirements.
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Suite 10B, Level 10, 2 Corporate Court, Bundall QLD 4217
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PO Box 7005, Mount Crosby QLD 4306
Our team continues to work remotely but you are welcome to arrange an appointment with one of our consultants.
Please complete the form to submit an enquiry.
