# IRMI is rewriting its design-build risk and insurance guide

> Design-build moves design responsibility onto the builder's side of the table. Project requirements, and the contractor COIs checked against them, have to keep up.

Published Oct 27, 2026 by Forsured. Industry news. Source: https://forsured.ai/blog/irmi-design-build-guide-update/

![What design-build changes in COI review: Professional liability; Delegated design scopes; Project-specific programs](https://forsured.ai/blog/irmi-design-build-guide-update/hero.png)

## The short version

- IRMI selected brokerage American Global to rewrite its Design-Build Risk and Insurance guide, edited by IRMI's Megan Jolly.
- The update covers progressive design-build, risk allocation, indemnification, limits of liability, professional liability, project-specific coverage and bonding.
- On design-build work, check contractor COIs for professional liability wherever a contractor carries design responsibility, not just general liability.

The International Risk Management Institute (IRMI) has picked American Global, a construction and infrastructure risk and insurance brokerage, to rewrite its long-running Design-Build Risk and Insurance guide. The team includes Caryn Maxfield, Ante Petricevic, François Wasselin and Giovanni Bach, with IRMI's Megan Jolly editing, according to the October 23 announcement.

## What the update covers

The rewrite is meant to catch up with how design-build is delivered today, including progressive design-build. It covers contractual risk allocation, indemnification, limits of liability, professional liability insurance, project-specific coverage and bonding.

## Why it matters for contractor COIs

Design-build shifts design responsibility to the builder's side of the contract. That has a direct effect on what a compliant contractor COI looks like:

- **Professional liability enters the picture.** A design-builder, and any trade contractor doing delegated design on mechanical, electrical, structural steel or curtain wall scopes, may need professional liability that a general liability policy won't provide.
- **Requirements differ by role.** The same project can need different coverage from a designer, a design-builder and a build-only trade contractor. One template for every firm misses that.
- **Project-specific programs change the checklist.** When an owner or contractor buys project-specific coverage, contractor COIs have to be checked against what the program does and doesn't cover.

WTW's 2027 outlook expects contractor's professional liability to run flat to up 5% on annual programs and flat to up 10% on project-specific policies, so the coverage is available. The job is making sure the contractors who need it actually carry it, at the limits the project requires.

IRMI's guides are a standard reference for construction risk teams, and this one is worth reading when it lands.

## Common questions

### Why does design-build change insurance requirements?

In design-build, the builder's team takes on design responsibility. That brings professional liability into the picture for the design-builder and for any trade contractor doing delegated design, so project requirements and COI reviews need to account for it.

## Sources

1. [American Global tapped to update IRMI's Design-Build Risk and Insurance guide](https://www.constructiondive.com/press-release/20261023-american-global-tapped-to-update-irmis-design-build-risk-and-insurance-gui/), Construction Dive, Oct 23, 2026
2. [Insurance Marketplace Realities 2027: Construction](https://www.wtwco.com/en-us/insights/2026/10/insurance-marketplace-realities-2027-construction), WTW, Oct 1, 2026

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