--- title: Insurance Blog | DESIGNPRO Insurance Group (A Wichert Insurance Agency) in Westerville, Ohio description: Read the DESIGNPRO Insurance Group blog for local, interesting and up-to-date insurance news. --- # INDUSTRY RESOURCES FOR ARCHITECTS & ENGINEERS ## from DESIGNPRO Insurance Group [Building Blocks](/blog) [Continiuing Ed](/continuing-education) [Industry Events](/events) [Videos](/videos) ## Building Blocks: DESIGNPRO Insurance Group Blog Building Blocks is our comprehensive resource library designed specifically for architects, engineers, and design professionals navigating today's complex practice environment. Each article addresses critical aspects of professional practice—from contract negotiation and risk management to client relationships and project delivery—providing actionable insights that help protect your practice while enhancing your professional success. Whether you're a seasoned practitioner looking to stay current with industry best practices or an emerging professional building your knowledge foundation, these posts offer practical guidance on the business and legal considerations that impact every design project. Written by our Risk Manager, Eric Pempus Esq. FAIA, NCARB, each article draws from extensive experience in both legal practice and architectural profession to address topics ranging from leadership strategies and professional associations to technical documentation and moral rights—all with the real-world challenges of design practice in mind. [**Two Phase Projects — Preliminary then Actual Design/Construction Projects** — **Certain design and construction projects may have two phases:** — 1) A Predesign/Construction Phase, Master Plan, or an Assessment and Feasibility Study, and then — 2) An actual Design & Construction Administration Phase — The owner may desire to have their project for design and construction in two… — Aug 4](/blog/2026/two-phase-projects-preliminary-then-actual-design-construction-projects) [**Back to Basics: The Contractual Liability Exclusion** — **What is the Contractual Liability Exclusion?** — One of the most elementary concepts for design professionals to be aware of when it comes to professional liability insurance is the contractual liability exclusion. This exclusion is present in just about every professional liability insurance policy.… — Jul 9](/blog/2026/back-to-basics-the-contractual-liability-exclusion) [**Prevailing Party in Dispute Resolution** — Many design and construction industry contracts include a clause in the disputes provisions stating that the “prevailing party” shall be entitled to recover its attorney’s fees and legal expenses from the other party, because they won the case or other legal action. In other words, a prevailing… — Jun 2](/blog/2026/prevailing-party-in-dispute-resolution) [**The “First Dollar Defense” Endorsement** — While insurance policy endorsements are additional costs up front, many of them can lead to substantial savings later down the road. One optional endorsement that most professional liability carriers offer is known as the “First Dollar Defense” endorsement. Generally speaking, choosing to add this… — May 12](/blog/2026/the-first-dollar-defense-endorsement) [**What Liquidated Damages Are & Are Not in the Design/Construction Industry?** — _April 2026_ — **What Are Liquidated Damages?** — Liquidated damages are pre-agreed, specific monetary sums stipulated in a contract to be paid by one party to another if a particular breach occurs, such as a late design/construction project completion. They represent a reasonable, estimated compensation… — Apr 9](/blog/2026/what-liquidated-damages-are-are-not-in-the-design-construction-industry) [**Architects’ & Engineers’ Moral Rights are not What They Think They Are** — August 2024 — Moral rights are personal rights that connect the creator, such as an architect or engineer (A/E), to documents that they created when rendering their professional services. Moral rights are about being properly named or credited when their work is used, and the way the work is… — Mar 31](/blog/2026/architects-engineers-moral-rights-are-not-what-they-think-they-are) [**Changes are Inevitable in the Design Professions & Construction Industry** — September 2024 — In the business world, changing the course in mid-stream in a project can be distressful, time consumption and costly. For example, you order blue new chairs for the entire office, and just after they are in production, you change them to brown. In contrast, in the design… — Mar 31](/blog/2026/changes-are-inevitable-in-the-design-professions-construction-industry) [**Specifications | Complimenting the Drawings in Architectural & Engineering Construction Projects** — October 2024 — When people think of the documents that are prepared and used to construct a project, many times the other thing that they think of are the drawings. But drawings are just half of the story on how to design and build a project. The other half are the specifications. — _Defined,…_ — Mar 31](/blog/2026/specifications-complimenting-the-drawings-in-architectural-engineering-construction-projects) [**Excluded Professional Services from Architect & Engineering Agreements** — November 2024 — There are times where there are misunderstandings between a design professional and their client on a project. Professional association model agreements strive to dispel any ambiguous scope of services in these agreements, but it is easier said than done. This risk management… — Mar 31](/blog/2026/excluded-professional-services-from-architect-engineering-agreements) * * * - [1](/blog.md) - [2](/blog.md/page-2) - [3](/blog.md/page-3)