Compulsory ten-year insurance - The Peeters-Borsus Law

The Peeters-Borsus Act, which came into force on 01/07/2018, aims to improve customer protection in the construction sector and stop discrimination against architects, who were, until now, the only professionals required to take out insurance.

What is the Peeters-Borsus Act?

It imposes compulsory ten-year insurance - for housing construction projects for which the permit was granted after 30/06/2018 and only for work affecting stability, solidity and watertightness - for architects, stability engineers and contractors carrying out work involving the closed shell.

Consequences for the architect ?

Insurance level : not much. Ten-year cover for architects was already imposed by the Loi Laruelle, what has changed is the format of the cover.

In fact, for projects covered by the Peeters-Borsus Act, the insurance contract must cover decennial liability for a firm period of ten years from the time the work is approved. This means that if the policy is cancelled, coverage must be maintained until the end of this 10-year period for all declared projects, with no surrender premium due.

At the same time, under the Peeters-Ducarme law, architects are still obliged to insure their total liability, excluding cases covered by decennial liability. Including for non-residential construction.

Your insurance policies have all been adapted to comply with these new laws.

Obligation level : Under the Peeters-Borsus Act, architects are now required to carry out additional checks. Before work begins, he must check that the structural contractor(s) and stability engineer(s) have provided the client with their ten-year insurance certificate. Of course, he must also request such a certificate from his insurer.

The architect must check that the certificate is a "Loi Peeters" RC Décennale certificate specific to the building site (and not a "RC Exploitation" certificate!).

If the contractor fails to present the certificate, the architect must inform the client and advise him to exclude the contractor from the worksite. If he fails to receive the certificate, the architect must denounce his mission; otherwise, the architect may be subject to substantial fines.

How can we reduce the architect's workload and insurance costs?

At the very least, architects should include a clause in their agreement with the client requiring the latter to deny access to anyone who has not provided proof of insurance.

In theory, each party subject to compulsory insurance must take out its own "RC Décennale" policy to cover its own liability and that of its subcontractors.

To lighten the architect's load, and to avoid the various parties' insurers passing the buck in the event of a dispute, AVESTA Insurance advocates the introduction of a comprehensive RC10 Peeters Act policy.

This policy, underwritten by the project owner, covers all parties subject to compulsory insurance under a single contract.

This solution is more practical, safer and more economical for the client. Indeed, both in terms of the premium and compensation in the event of a dispute, you can be sure that your interests will be defended, and that you will only have to deal with one contact (a single insurer).

For designers, a reduction in the liability premium can even be applied to the assignment concerned. The cost reduction is in addition to the administrative simplicity and reduced involvement in the event of a ten-year claim.

How can I obtain a comprehensive RC Decennale offer under the Peeters Act?

By completing the questionnaire available at www.avesta.be/assurances/assurances-construction/and sending it to us by e-mail at info@avesta.be.

If the policy is taken out via AVESTA, we automatically forward the legal certificate to the architect in charge of the file, to keep administration as light as possible.