Professional Liability Insurance

You are automatically subscribed in part 1during your annual registration.

This part covers you in the following situations:

• You are in general practice;
• You perform reserved activities in occasional private practice, according to the limits and conditions of the insurance policy*;
• You perform non-reserved professional activities in private practice and work alone on your own account, according to the limits and conditions of the insurance policy*;
• You worked in private practice and the coverage under the OIQ’s supplementary group plan ended, unless another valid and recoverable insurance is available. You report to the OIQ:
  • an act derogatory to the dignity of the profession
  • a situation of illegal practice
  • work considered dangerous for public safety

* Refer to the basic group plan policy for full conditions.

This part features:

• Coverage of $250,000 per claim and $500,000 for all claims arising from professional services provided for a project, for all engineering disciplines.
• Coverage for as long as you remain a member of the OIQ, and for five years after you cease to be a member.
• Coverage for the succession and legal heirs of an engineer for up to five years following their death.

If you feel the minimum amounts guaranteed by the Règlement are not sufficient for your practice, we suggest you assess your insurance needs with the broker.

See Sections 1 and 2 of the Règlement

Want more details on the basic group plan? See the insurance certificate and policy .

If you are in private practice performing activities reserved for engineers, you must be covered by this supplementary group plan, unless an exemption applies (See Possible exemptions to the supplementary group plan).

Part 2 is managed exclusively by the broker authorized by the OIQ. You must contact BFL CANADA to subscribe. Contact information for BFL appears at the bottom of the page.

Please note that, since November 2024, the Professional Code states that if you work for an organization whose juridical form is a legal person or a limited liability partnership (S.E.N.C.R.L.), and that organization mainly offers engineering services, the insured named on the part 2 policy must be the company employing you, not just yourself. The policy must not be restricted to engineers employed by the company.

The Regulation provides for this plan:

• Minimum coverage of $500,000 per loss and $1,000,000 for all losses arising during a year, if you personally subscribe to the supplemental group plan (Section 4 of the Règlement).
• Minimum coverage of $1,000,000 per loss and $2,000,000 for all for all losses arising during a year if your company or employer subscribes to the plan (Section 5 of the Règlement, paragraph 5, subparagraph a).

Coverage for five years after the last act performed in private practice, even in case of job termination, cessation of activities, retirement, or bankruptcy. *

*Refer to the policy for full conditions.

If you feel the minimum amounts guaranteed by the Règlement are not sufficient for your practice, we suggest you assess your insurance needs with the broker.

It is important to note that any engineer working in private practice performing reserved activities is subject to this requirement, regardless of your type of permit.

Want more details on the supplementary group plan? See its insurance policy .

See Sections 3, 4, and 5 of the Règlement

Part 3 concerns you if your employer is an organization that mainly provides engineering services and you perform only activities not reserved for engineers.

Part 3 allows you to comply with the amendment to Section 187.11 of the Professional Code in effect since November 7, 2024, which requires engineers to demonstrate that their employer holds professional liability insurance (PLI) at least equivalent to that prescribed in Section 2 of the Règlement sur l’assurance de la responsabilité professionnelle des ingénieurs (Regulation respecting professional liability insurance for engineers, in French only) (“Règlement”).

You are subject to Section 187.11 of the Professional Code if all of the following conditions apply to your situation:

• You are in private practice.
• You never perform activities reserved for engineers.
• The main activity of the organization employing you is to provide engineering services. Examples of engineering services:
  • Consulting services.
  • Management: considered part of engineering when the project to be managed involves the execution of an engineering work.
• The juridical form of the organization employing you is a legal person or a limited liability partnership (S.E.N.C.R.L.). Examples of legal person: business corporation, cooperatives.

You are not concerned if you are employed by a general partnership, a limited partnerships, or a sole proprietorship. You are also not concerned if you are self-employed (you work alone and on your own account).

If you are subject, you must provide proof that your organization subscribes to part 3, unless it already subscribes to part 2 or holds an exemption under Section 6 of the Règlement.

Part 3 is managed exclusively by the broker authorized by the OIQ. The organization employing you must contact BFL CANADA to subscribe. Ask the person responsible for your employer’s insurance file to contact BFL CANADA whose contact information appears at the bottom of the page.

This plan features:

The possibility for the organization to use an existing policy, known as an associated policy. In this case, the organization will choose option 1. If the organization does not have an associated policy, it will choose option 2, which offers the full coverage required by the Professional Code.

OPTION 1 provides a policy offering only the 5-year coverage after the last act performed in private practice, even in case of job termination, cessation of activities, retirement, or bankruptcy. *
Option 1 is only available if the organization holds a recognized equivalent policy.
OPTION 2 provides, in particular, the 4 conditions prescribed in Section 2 of the Règlement, as well as the five-year coverage after the last act performed in private practice, even in case of job termination, cessation of activities, retirement, or bankruptcy. *
*Refer to the policy for full conditions.

RECOGNIZED EQUIVALENT POLICY
A policy is considered equivalent, and accepted as an associated policy, if it provides at least the 4 following conditions, prescribed in Section 2 of the Règlement:

1. An amount of coverage of at least $250,000 per loss and at least $500,000 for all losses arising during the year or losses that arose before it but for which a claim is field during that year;
2. An undertaking by the insurer to pay, on behalf of the insured, up to the amount of coverage any amount that the insured may be legally required to pay to a third party as damages/interest in respect of a loss that arises during the period of coverage, or a loss that arose before it but is the subject of a claim filed during the period of coverage and resulting from a fault committed by the insured in the practice of the profession;
3. An undertaking by the insurer to deny coverage only after having provided written notice to the insured and the Secretary of the OIQ;
4. An undertaking by the insurer to provide the Secretary of the OIQ with a notice of at least 90 days before terminating or not renewing the insurance contract.

The organization required to subscribe to part 3 must provide proof to BFL CANADA that it holds an equivalent policy.

It is important to note that any engineer working in private practice within such an organization must comply with this requirement, regardless of the type of permit held.

Want more details on the part for the exercise of non-reserved activities in organizations? See its policies Option 1 and Option 2 .
See Section 2 of the Règlement
See Section 187.11 of the Professional Code

If, as an engineer, you provide professional services to a client other than your employer or your company (i.e., you are in private practice), you may be eligible for an exemption from the group supplementary insurance plan. However, certain conditions apply.

Scenario 1.
You work exclusively for a public body or a federal institution as defined in the following legislation.

Sources:

• Act respecting Access to documents held by public bodies and the Protection of personal information (chapter A-2.1), Section 3
• Access to Information Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. A-1), Section 3
• Règlement sur l’assurance de la responsabilité professionnelle des ingénieurs, Section 5, subparagraph 1

Scenario 2.
You perform duties for a public body or federal institution who covers liability that may incur as a result of faults committed by you while practicing your profession (these institutions and bodies are listed in the legislation below). For example, if you are a design approval representative and you hold a delegation of authority issued by Transport Canada.

In this case, you need to update your OIQ profile to indicate your private practice status. Specify that you practise in the field of aeronautical or aerospace engineering and that a public body or federal institution serves as a guarantor for your work. If this scenario applies, but you do not practise in the fields of aeronautical or aerospace engineering, make sure to forward this information to the OIQ.

Sources:

• Act respecting Access to documents held by public bodies and the Protection of personal information (chapter A-2.1), Section 3
• Access to Information Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. A-1), Section 3
• Règlement sur l’assurance de la responsabilité professionnelle des ingénieurs, Section 5, subparagraph 2

Scenario 3.

As an engineer, you perform duties on behalf of a partnership or employer covered by an insurance policy that meets the conditions listed in Section 6 of the following Règlement.

Sources:

• Règlement sur l’assurance de la responsabilité professionnelle des ingénieurs, Section 6

If your company’s or employer’s professional liability insurance meets all the conditions listed in Section 6 of the Règlement and you wish to apply for an exemption, contact the OIQ to obtain the required forms.

In addition, your company or employer must submit a report to the OIQ every six months from the date on which the exemption was granted. The report form includes the following:

• any claims pertaining to the engineer’s professional liability
• any declarations of incident made to the partnership’s or employer’s insurer