Insurance carriers are adding AI exclusions to professional liability policies. Design professionals using tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney face potential coverage gaps. Learn what changed in twenty twenty-six and how to protect your firm.
Here's a question every architect and engineer using AI needs to ask: Does your professional liability insurance still cover errors made by ChatGPT, Midjourney, or other AI tools? If you haven't checked lately, you might be surprised by the answer. Major insurance carriers are adding AI exclusions to professional liability policies right now. And it's happening faster than most design professionals realize. Here's what changed. On January first, twenty twenty-six, Verisk's standardized AI exclusion forms went into effect. These forms give insurers ready-made language to exclude losses from generative AI use. Berkley has already introduced what they call an absolute AI exclusion. It specifically names ChatGPT, Bard, Midjourney, and DALL-E. Philadelphia Insurance and Hamilton Select have excluded AI-related claims from errors and omissions coverage entirely. Now, AI is not excluded on most professional liability policies for architects and engineers right now. But this is moving fast. If your policy renews this quarter, you need to check the new language carefully. So why are insurers worried about AI? The short answer is hallucinations. Stanford Law School research shows that general-purpose AI tools produce incorrect outputs between fifty-eight and eighty-eight percent of the time. Even specialized professional-grade AI tools still hallucinate twenty to thirty-three percent of the time. And we're already seeing real consequences. In the Mata versus Avianca case, a lawyer was sanctioned by the court for citing cases that didn't exist. ChatGPT made them up. The courts were not amused. For design professionals, that kind of error is even more serious. AI might suggest materials that don't exist. It might recommend structural approaches that violate code. It might generate specifications that simply cannot be built. And when those errors lead to claims, the professional who stamped the work bears the liability. Not the AI vendor. Here's what makes this tricky. About one-third of architecture firms now use AI in daily operations. Large firms are at sixty-one percent adoption. And architects under thirty-five are sixty-six percent likely to use AI image generators. That means younger team members might be using tools that firm leadership hasn't evaluated for insurance implications. The AIA Trust put it clearly. Firms should treat AI as a support tool, not a replacement for sound professional judgment. So what should you do right now? First, review your current errors and omissions policy for AI-related exclusions, especially if you're renewing soon. Second, document which AI tools your team uses and establish verification protocols. Third, update your client contracts to address AI use and liability allocation. And fourth, work with an insurance professional who actually understands these emerging risks. Many businesses view their insurance agent as just another vendor. Risk Specialty Group is different. They're a guide for design professionals navigating complex coverage questions. They work with over twenty A-rated carriers who understand architects, engineers, and other design firms. They offer three options: a straightforward quote if you know what you need, a conversation if you're unsure about AI coverage gaps, or a full three-sixty review of your emerging exposures. You can reach them at seven one three, five five two, one nine zero zero. That's seven one three, five five two, nineteen hundred. Or visit risk specialty group dot com. Don't wait until your next claim to find out you're not covered. Check your policy now. Risk Specialty Group City: Houston Address: 675 Bering Dr. Website: https://riskspecialtygroup.com/ Phone: +1 713 552 1900 Email: info@riskspecialtygroup.com