Surveyors · Regulation

The RICS AI standard and surveyors’ PI: what actually changes

Reviewed by Matthew Bartlett, Director, Apex Insurance Brokers Limited · Published 2026-08-12

In short: RICS’s professional standard Responsible use of artificial intelligence in surveying practice (1st edition, September 2025) became mandatory on 9 March 2026. It applies to RICS members and regulated firms wherever AI has a material impact on how a surveying service is delivered, and it imposes written, auditable duties: a register of AI systems, a risk register reviewed at least quarterly, documented decisions on whether AI outputs can be relied on, and advance client disclosure. For professional indemnity purposes those documents cut both ways — they are what a claimant, RICS and your insurer will each ask to see.

What the standard requires

The standard separates mandatory requirements (“must”) from best practice (“should”). The core mandatory duties for firms using in-scope AI systems are:

An AI systems register. Regulated firms must maintain a written register of the AI systems they use, including each system’s purpose, when it was first used and when it is next due for review.
A risk register, reviewed at least quarterly. Firms must create and operate a risk register covering matters such as bias, erroneous outputs, data limitations and data retention — and must review and update it at least quarterly.
Documented reliability decisions. Members and firms must apply professional judgement to material AI outputs and document, in writing, their decision on whether the output is fit to be relied on — including assumptions made, concerns, reasoning and conclusion.
Advance client disclosure. Clients must be told in writing, in advance, when AI will be used, in which parts of the service, and what opt-out and redress routes exist.
Competence and procurement duties. Members using AI must maintain sufficient knowledge of the systems’ types, limitations and failure modes, and firms must carry out documented due diligence before procuring AI systems.

RICS publishes the standard in full on rics.org — the document itself is the source of truth for wording and scope.

Why this matters for professional indemnity

Professional indemnity claims turn on whether a surveyor exercised reasonable skill and care — and on what the file shows. The AI standard changes the shape of that file in three ways.

First, it defines the paper trail a claimant will request. If a valuation or survey relied on an AI-assisted output and a dispute follows, the documented reliability decision the standard requires is exactly the record a claimant’s solicitor — and your own defence team — will ask for. A firm that made a sensible judgement but never wrote it down is in a materially weaker position than one that can produce the record.

Second, non-compliance is now a regulatory matter as well as a negligence question. Because the duties are mandatory for members and regulated firms, a failure to operate the registers or make the disclosures can support a RICS conduct issue alongside any civil claim arising from the same work.

Third, expect the questions at renewal. Insurers already ask how firms supervise and review their work; as AI use becomes explicit and auditable, it is reasonable to expect proposal forms and underwriters to ask how AI is used, governed and documented. Firms that can answer by pointing at a live register and a quarterly-reviewed risk file present as better-managed risks. We would not speculate about premium effects — but presentation of the risk is something a firm controls, and this is now part of it.

A practical note for smaller practices

The standard contains no templates, and for a two-or-three-surveyor practice the honest reading is that the compliance load is real: a register, a quarterly review cycle, a written decision on each material AI output and disclosure wording in your terms of engagement. It is work a practice can do itself from the standard’s own wording; some firms will choose to buy help. Either way, the PI-relevant point is the same: do it in writing, keep it current, and be able to produce it.

FAQ

Does the RICS AI standard apply to my firm if we only use general-purpose tools?

The standard applies where AI systems have a material impact on delivery of a surveying service. Whether a given tool is in scope is a judgement the standard expects you to make — and, for material uses, to document. When in doubt, record the assessment.

Will my PI policy respond to a claim involving AI-assisted work?

PI policies respond to claims arising from your professional services; how a particular policy treats AI-assisted work depends on its wording, and wordings vary. If AI is now material to how you work, that is worth a specific conversation at renewal rather than an assumption.

Do insurers require compliance with the standard?

Compliance is a RICS requirement, not an insurance one — but underwriters assess how a firm manages its professional risk, and mandatory professional standards are part of that picture. Expect questions, and treat your registers and records as part of your renewal presentation.

Apex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 724952). This article is general information, not advice on a specific policy, and is not legal or compliance advice on the RICS standard itself — the published standard is the source of truth.