Stop Elevating the Standard of Care in Your Contracts

Standard of Care can be a huge contractual issue for engineering firms because if they elevate their Standard of Care in a contract, they can open themselves up to significant uninsured liability.

Daniel Buelow, managing director of Willis A&E's Architects & Engineers Division, joined the program to talk about how firms can best manage Standard of Care in their contracts.

Here is the wording recommended by Willis to ensure an insurable Standard of Care:

“In providing services under this agreement, the consultant will endeavor to perform in a manner consistent with the degree of care and skill ordinarily exercised by members of the same profession currently practicing under similar circumstances.”

Buelow cautions, however, that there are many other instances in contracts where engineers can inadvertently elevate their Standard of Care.

Buelow was a co-presenter in an ACEC online class on Standard of Care in April. Click here for more information.