Structural EngineersMatt Cornell is a structural engineer with 25 years experience in residential structural engineering. He lives in Northgate on the northern side of Brisbane, Australia.
If you are buying or selling a home, I recommend you get a building and pest report every time. Not from a structural engineer – although some structural engineers can do this work – but by a full-time pre-purchase building inspector.
I’m a structural engineer and I always engage a professional building inspector when I buy a property – and I’ll tell you why.
Cornell Engineers are pleased to announce they have been awarded the structural engineering design and documentation of the proposed renovation of a duplex unit in New Farm, Brisbane.
Director, Matt Cornell, said “This building has a lot of hidden potential. The owner has great insights and will be able to turn this property into a gem!”
Cornell Engineers provide structural engineering for new houses, extension and renovations in Brisbane and Mackay. The Brisbane market is performing really well and a tasteful renovation and extension makes great sense. Matt Cornell said, “We’ve had some great feedback from clients. We offer a personalised and intelligent structural engineering service and that complements committed and involved owners and builders. We particularly love working with our home owners and designers. I guess that’s what makes us a little bit different to the current offerings in the market.”
Professional Indemnity Insurance (PI Insurance) is designed to assist professionals that provide advice and services to customers in the event of a claim alleging breach of professional duty or misconduct.
For structural engineers, professional indemnity insurance helps protect a structural engineer from bearing the full cost of defending a negligence claim and the damages that could be awarded in a tribunal or court case. The negligence claim could be made in relation to faulty designs, partial failures or even building collapse.
Even if the engineering professional successfully defends a claim, the costs involved in preparing a defence against allegations can be financially oppressive.
In Queensland, the Board of Professional Engineers advises that Professional Indemnity Insurance is not compulsory.
However I strongly recommend that all structural engineers carry PI Insurance with a minimum value of $1 million dollars.
Professional indemnity insurance gives customers peace of mind.
If you’re about to engage a structural engineer, find one that carries PI Insurance.
Mind you, professional indemnity insurance is a last line of protection for a professional structural engineer. A lot of things have to go wrong for a policy to be enacted:
All through this downhill process, communication and feedback process needs to be broken or stilted.
However mistakes still get made and still get built. Insurance is still required!
Professional Indemnity Insurance, like all types of insurance, is expensive and so not all structural engineers in Brisbane and Queensland carry professional indemnity insurance.
Cornell Engineers has a current Professional Indemnity Insurance policy. I think structural engineers that carry insurance show that they care about their customers.
Would you ever NOT insure your house?
No. To me it doesn’t make sense to have your home designed, renovated or repaired by a professional that doesn’t carry professional indemnity insurance.
So the answer is YES. Your structural engineer SHOULD carry professional indemnity insurance.
To compare quotes from two engineers – one that has PI insurance and one that doesn’t – is like comparing apples to oranges (well actually – rotten apples). It just isn’t fair to compare one with the other. One cares for you, expects to do a good job, has protection and expects to be around in a few years. The other doesn’t.
Our preferred insurance broker for professional indemnjty insurance is BRIC . Check out their website and have a chat about getting your engineering consultancy progfessional indemnity insurance up to date.
To find out if your structural engineer structural engineer has a current professional indemnity insurance policy, you need to ask.
When you check your structural engineer’s Certificate of Currency:
It’s your right and PI Insurance is for your protection too. Insist your structural engineer has a current professional indeminty insurance policy..
Samford Valley, Brisbane! What a beautiful spot to build your new home or plan an extension. Rolling hills. Country living close to the city. I think it is an absolutely delightful spot and I love heading out there to do inspections.
Cornell Engineers are proud to have been involved in a couple of Samford Valley construction projects recently. We’ve got one house
under construction in Angshelle Court already with another one to start very soon! They are magnificent homes with nothing left to chance. If you want to live in a beautiful country setting live at Samford Valley. If you want your new home designed and certified by a great structural engineer, call me – Matthew Cornell – 07 3102 2835.
It’s hard to explain what structural engineers produce when we do structural engineering for a new house. So I’ve prepared a sample set of our structural engineering house plans for your enquiring mind!