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Aipedia: Interior designers
Interior designers' PI usually responds to claims alleging negligent design or advice, whether or not AI was involved, but IP cover, exclusions and disclosure decide the outcome. No insurer or BIID statement on AI and PI had been published as at October 2026.
Part of: AI in Interior designers
In short
Many interior designers' PI policies may not mention AI at all, which is often called silent AI. That usually means a claim arising from AI-assisted work is assessed like any other claim about your professional services, subject to the policy terms. IP infringement cover varies and may be limited or excluded. PI is not compulsory by law, but BIID Code clause 7 requires adequate insurance and BIID requires Registered Interior Designers to hold PI. Describe your AI use accurately at renewal, check for AI, IP and contractual liability wording, and notify circumstances promptly.
PI for interior designers is bought to cover claims that you breached your professional duty to a client: a negligent design, specification, budget or piece of advice. The tool used to produce the work is not usually the deciding factor. If an AI layout, schedule or render leads to a claim, the questions are whether the work was within your declared activities, whether you acted with reasonable skill and care, and whether any exclusion applies.
No BIID or insurer statement on AI and PI had been found as at October 2026, and no UK court ruling or BIID disciplinary outcome on an interior designer's AI use had been verified. The general position is explained in does PI cover AI mistakes.
A policy that neither includes nor excludes AI is described as silent on AI. Silence is not the same as cover; it means the ordinary terms decide. Some insurers may add wording that expressly covers AI-related claims, and some may add exclusions. The difference is set out in affirmative AI cover versus silent AI. At renewal, check whether your wording has changed.
AI raises IP risk in two directions: outputs that resemble someone else's work, and disputes about who owns what you created. Designers' PI policies may include some cover for unintentional infringement of copyright or design rights, but limits, conditions and exclusions vary. Deliberate copying is unlikely to be covered, and BIID clause 8(e) treats knowing copying as a conduct issue in its own right. Wide contractual warranties of originality may go beyond the policy. See IP infringement cover, AI imitation risk and who owns AI designs.
In Getty Images v Stability AI [2025] EWHC 2863 (Ch), the High Court rejected the secondary copyright claims against the model provider, but output claims were dropped before judgment, so the case does not settle whether a designer's use of a particular output infringes.
Insurers rely on the information you give. For business insurance, you have a duty to make a fair presentation of the risk. Describe your activities accurately, including any lighting, space planning, procurement or marketing imagery work, and explain how AI is used and checked. An inaccurate description can lead to reduced or refused claims. Useful points to share are which tasks use AI, who reviews outputs, what client data goes into tools, and whether contracts mention AI or IP.
Illustrative scenario. A designer's proposal form describes the business as "residential interior design consultancy". In practice the studio uses AI to produce lighting layouts and runs procurement for clients. A hotel client claims for wrongly specified fabric and a lighting defect. The insurer questions whether procurement and lighting design were declared. The claim is delayed while the designer explains, and the outcome depends on the policy wording and the disclosure made.
PI is not compulsory by statute for interior designers. The BIID Code of Conduct clause 7 requires insurance appropriate to the nature and size of the business, adequate for claims from professional activities, and covering the designer, practice and employees. Members should check subcontractors are insured and advise clients to check the insurance of other parties. BIID guidance says Registered Interior Designers must hold PI and public liability insurance. No minimum limit is set. See do interior designers need PI.
How Apex helps: Apex arranges PI for interior designers. A broker can review your policy wording for AI and IP terms and help you describe your AI use accurately at renewal. See PI insurance for interior designers.
Usually, if the claim alleges negligent professional work within your declared activities and no exclusion applies. The insurer treats it as your error, because you used and relied on the tool.
Proposal forms may not ask directly, but the duty of fair presentation means you should disclose material information. How you use AI and check outputs is likely to be relevant.
It may be, to some extent, for unintentional infringement. Limits, conditions and exclusions vary, and deliberate copying or wide contractual warranties may not be covered. Check the wording and any sub-limit with your broker before taking on IP-heavy work.
It describes an insurance policy that neither covers nor excludes AI expressly. A claim involving AI is then judged under the ordinary terms, which may or may not respond, depending on the wording and any other exclusions.
Tell us about your firm and the work you do. A broker will review how your current PI treats AI-assisted work, or arrange new cover. No fee for a quote. Or call 0117 325 0027.
Start a PI quote Request a callbackApex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales, company number 07014570. This page is general information about how AI is used in the profession and how insurance may respond. It is not legal, regulatory or insurance advice on your circumstances, and it does not guarantee that cover will be available or on what terms.
