Artificial intelligence is changing the surveying profession, but what does it mean for professional indemnity insurance and risk?

In this episode, Nina Young speaks with Nick Rains from Howden Insurance Brokers about how AI is reshaping the insurance landscape. They discuss how AI is making it easier for complaints and formal claims to be generated, along with the importance of AI governance, professional indemnity insurance, and clear policies as AI becomes part of everyday practice.

This conversation offers practical insights to help surveyors and firms understand the risks, opportunities, and responsibilities that come with adopting AI.


What We Cover

• Professional indemnity insurance explained
• AI-generated complaints and claims
• Why surveyors are seeing more client queries
• How insurers assess AI risk
• AI governance and compliance
• Shadow AI within surveying firms
• Graduate skills and future recruitment
• AI as a quality checking tool
• Risk management and record keeping
• The future of AI within surveying
  
  

Guest Links

Howden Insurance Brokers – https://www.howdengroup.com/uk-en

Guest Bio

Nick Rains is Senior Contract and Wordings Executive at Howden Insurance Brokers. He advises surveyors, architects, engineers and other construction professionals on professional indemnity insurance, contractual risk and policy wordings. Alongside his insurance expertise, Nick has developed a strong interest in artificial intelligence and its impact on professional practice, governance and risk management across the built environment.

This episode is sponsored by Rebuild Cost UK, a pay-as-you-go rebuild cost calculator built for residential surveyors. No subscriptions, no annual contracts, you only pay when you run a calculation. Try your very first calculation free at rebuildcost.uk.

If you want to connect with surveyors across the UK and keep up with the profession, join The Surveying Room. It is free to join and open to all types of surveyors, students, and professionals who work with them. Surveyors UK & The Surveying Room

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Conservation and sustainability aren't opposites. They're two sides of the same coin.

Dr Samantha Organ, associate professor at the University of the West of England and a building surveyor working across heritage, sustainability and consultancy, joins Nina Young to explain why.

This conversation explores climate resilience and the future of historic buildings. It also touches on the graduate shortage reshaping surveying salaries, why she stays in both academia and practice, and where AI quietly undermines the critical thinking the job depends on.

What We Cover

• Samantha's journey into surveying
• Women in the profession
• Academia and industry working together
• Heritage and conservation projects
• National Trust experiences
• Climate resilience and overheating
• Sustainable buildings and retrofit
• AI and critical thinking
• Graduate shortages
• Why building surveying offers incredible variety

Guest Links

Dr Samantha Organ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-samantha-organ-frics-amice-44246b16/

SO Associates: https://www.so-associates.co.uk/

Useful Links

University of the West of England: https://www.uwe.ac.uk/

How to Close the Authority Gap | Mary Ann Sieghart: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJcYAqNfgtA

Guest Bio

Dr Samantha Organ is an Associate Professor at the University of the West of England and a chartered building surveyor with extensive experience across heritage conservation, sustainability, research and professional practice. Her career has included senior roles within the National Trust, private consultancy and academia, where she combines practical surveying with teaching and research. Samantha is passionate about climate resilience, historic buildings, developing future surveyors and helping the profession prepare for the challenges facing the built environment.

If you want to connect with surveyors across the UK and keep up with the profession, join The Surveying Room. It is free to join and open to all types of surveyors, students, and professionals who work with them. Surveyors UK & The Surveying Room

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Recruitment isn't just about finding the next job.

Roger Dunning has spent 24 years placing surveyors, and he's noticed the same pattern every time. The ones who get furthest aren't chasing the next job, they're building what he calls "career capital."

In this episode, Nina Young talks to Roger, founder of HD Surveyors, about why broad experience beats early specialism, why chartership is a non-negotiable badge to employers, and why Roger sees the best recruiters as career advisers, not CV distributors.

A grounded, practical look at building a surveying career on purpose.

What We Cover

• Roger's recruitment journey
• Career strategy versus job hopping
• Why breadth of experience creates opportunity
• Candidate-led recruitment in surveying
• Communication skills that employers value
• Graduate recruitment and first impressions
• AI and recruitment
• Chartership and APC support
• Career capital and long-term planning
• What good recruiters really do

Guest Links

Roger Dunning: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/rogerdunning

HD Surveyors: https://hdsurveyors.com/

Useful Links

Salary & Career Satisfaction Survey: https://survey.hdsurveyors.com/2026-salary-survey

Guest Bio

Roger Dunning is the founder of HD Surveyors and has worked in recruitment for more than 24 years. He specialises in recruiting building surveyors, quantity surveyors and project managers across the UK. Throughout his career he has helped hundreds of professionals build successful careers by focusing on long-term strategy rather than short-term job moves. Roger is passionate about career development, chartership, mentoring and helping surveyors make informed decisions that increase their long-term value in the profession.

If you want to connect with surveyors across the UK and keep up with the profession, join The Surveying Room. It is free to join and open to all types of surveyors, students, and professionals who work with them. Surveyors UK & The Surveying Room

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Rebecca Freeman nearly became a lawyer. A clearing phone call changed that, and she ended up in residential surveying instead. It turned out to be exactly the right fit. She built a career that now sits at senior leadership and risk at Legal & General Surveying Services. But the most important parts of that journey aren't on the CV.

In this episode, Nina talks to Rebecca about what residential surveying is really like to do. You're going into people's homes, often alone, navigating situations that no training manual fully prepares you for. She speaks openly about lone working, personal safety, and why the profession needs to take both more seriously. She also talks about emotional intelligence as a practical skill, not a soft one, and what it actually takes to do this job well over a long career.

This is the kind of conversation the profession needs more of.

What We Cover

• How a clearing phone call led Rebecca into surveying instead of law
• Why residential surveying suited her from the start
• Starting out at Countrywide and learning the job in Bath
• Mentorship, MRICS and building a long-term career in the profession
• How the 2008 crash reshaped day-to-day working life
• The shift from paper to digital and early surveying technology
• What residential surveying reveals about people and how they live
• Lone working, personal safety and the support surveyors actually need
• Emotional intelligence and handling difficult situations on site
• What AI and technology might change, and what will always need a human

Guest Links

Rebecca Freeman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-freeman-frics-98312019/

Legal & General Surveying Services: https://www.legalandgeneral.com/surveying-services/

Women in Residential Surveying: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13733915/

Useful Links

LionHeart: https://www.lionheart.org.uk/

Guest Bio

Rebecca Freeman is a residential surveying leader with more than 20 years’ experience in the profession. She is Risk Director at Legal & General Surveying Services and previously spent 22 years with Countrywide Surveying Services, building her career from graduate surveyor through to senior leadership. Rebecca is also the founder of Women in Residential Surveying, where she has been championing better support, visibility and practical conversations around the realities of working in the profession. Her background spans residential valuation, surveying operations, risk, training and professional development, with a particular interest in lone working, resilience and the future of residential surveying.

This episode is sponsored by Rebuild Cost UK, a pay-as-you-go rebuild cost calculator built for residential surveyors. No subscriptions, no annual contracts, you only pay when you run a calculation. Try your very first calculation free at rebuildcost.uk.

If you want to connect with surveyors across the UK and keep up with the profession, join The Surveying Room. It is free to join and open to all types of surveyors, students, and professionals who work with them. Surveyors UK & The Surveying Room

Connect with me - Nina Young on LinkedIn

Adam Bailey was there when drones first entered the built environment, and he's watched the entire industry evolve around him.

As Head of Specialist Surveys at Earl Kendrick, Adam joins Nina Young to talk about how drone technology has transformed the way surveyors work, why regulation and professional standards are being outpaced by poor practice, and what AI actually means for the future of the profession.

From photogrammetry and thermal imaging to the very real risks of cutting corners with technology, this is a conversation about where surveying is headed and what it takes to do it properly.

What We Cover

• How Adam Bailey became one of the first drone surveyors in the UK
• The evolution of drone surveying technology since 2013
• Drone regulations and CAA requirements
• Insurance, compliance and operational risk
• Why professional surveying knowledge matters in drone inspections
• AI in surveying and the future of automated inspections
• Drone photogrammetry and measured surveys
• Common mistakes surveyors make with drones
• Thermal imaging, building performance and retrofit surveys
• The importance of education and professional standards in surveying tech
  
  

Guest Links

Adam Bailey: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/adambaileydronesurveyor

Earl Kendrick: https://earlkendrick.com/

Useful Links

Air Safety Map: https://airsafetymap.com/

CAA Drone Guidance: https://www.caa.co.uk/drones/

Atoll Done Management System: https://atollds.com/

Moonrock Drone Insurance: https://www.moonrockinsurance.com/

Global Drone Training: https://globaldronetraining.com/

Geo Business: https://www.geobusinessshow.com/

Digital Construction Week: https://www.digitalconstructionweek.com/


Guest Bio

Adam Bailey is Head of Specialist Surveys at Earl Kendrick and has been working in the drone surveying sector since the early days of commercial drone use within the UK built environment industry. Originally coming from a background in block management and surveying, Adam founded one of the first specialist drone surveying businesses focused on property inspections and building surveys. He has also been involved in shaping standards and industry discussions around drone operations, safety, and regulation. Adam specialises in drone inspections, photogrammetry, thermal imaging, and surveying technology, with a strong focus on professionalism, compliance, and education within the sector.

This episode is sponsored by Rebuild Cost UK, a pay-as-you-go rebuild cost calculator built for residential surveyors. No subscriptions, no annual contracts, you only pay when you run a calculation. Try your very first calculation free at rebuildcost.uk.

If you want to connect with surveyors across the UK and keep up with the profession, join The Surveying Room. It is free to join and open to all types of surveyors, students, and professionals who work with them. Surveyors UK & The Surveying Room

Connect with me - Nina Young on LinkedIn

In this episode, Nina Young speaks with Adrian Tagg about the changing world of building surveying education, the growing impact of AI, and why surveying remains one of the most future-proof professions.

The conversation explores how universities are adapting to AI, why practical learning still matters, and what makes building surveying such a resilient profession in an increasingly automated world. Nina and Adrian also discuss outreach, attracting younger people into surveying, and the importance of developing evidence-based judgement that technology simply cannot replace.

What We Cover

• Moving from the military into surveying
• Why building surveying is so diverse
• Sustainability and energy efficiency in practice
• The shortage of surveyors across the industry
• Outreach work with schools and young people
• Career changes and mature students in surveying
• AI and its impact on education
• Why surveying still relies on human judgement
• Professional accountability and client responsibility
• The future of surveying education

Guest Links

Adrian Tagg’s Email – a.tagg@reading.ac.uk

Useful Links

University of Reading Building Surveying page – https://www.reading.ac.uk/ready-to-study/study/2026/surveying-and-construction-management-ug/bsc-building-surveying

Guest Bio

Adrian Tagg is an Associate Professor in Building Surveying at the University of Reading and a practising chartered building surveyor. Alongside academia, Adrian continues to work within industry and has extensive experience across building pathology, professional practice and surveying education. He also served as lead author for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors guidance note on Planned Preventative Maintenance. Adrian is passionate about professional standards, applied learning, and encouraging more people into the surveying profession.

This episode is sponsored by Rebuild Cost UK, a pay-as-you-go rebuild cost calculator built for residential surveyors. No subscriptions, no annual contracts, you only pay when you run a calculation. Try your very first calculation free at rebuildcost.uk.

If you want to connect with surveyors across the UK and keep up with the profession, join The Surveying Room. It is free to join and open to all types of surveyors, students, and professionals who work with them. Surveyors UK & The Surveying Room

Connect with me - Nina Young on LinkedIn

Summary
Victoria Collins joins me to share her journey from working in a bronze foundry to becoming a chartered building surveyor at Ridge & Partners.

We talk about changing careers, studying later in life, and what it really takes to qualify in surveying. Victoria also shares her passion for historic buildings and her current path into building conservation.

This is a brilliant example of how varied the routes into surveying can be.

What We Cover

• From fine art to surveying
• Working in a bronze foundry
• Health challenges and career decisions
• Studying a master’s alongside work
• Passing the APC and becoming chartered
• Day to day life in commercial building surveying
• Project work and site experience
• Moving into building conservation
• Apprenticeships and supporting new entrants
• The importance of problem solving in surveying

Guest Links

Victoria Collins - linkedin.com/in/victoria-collins-670719195

Useful Links

Ridge and Partners LLP - https://ridge.co.uk/

Guest Bio
Victoria Collins is a chartered building surveyor at Ridge & Partners with a growing specialism in building conservation. She began her career in a fine art bronze foundry, working on large scale sculptures for internationally recognised artists. After eight years in the industry, she retrained in building surveying, completing a master’s degree while working and going on to achieve chartership through the RICS. Vicki is now undertaking a further master’s in historic conservation and is working towards professional accreditation in the field, combining her hands-on background with a passion for historic buildings.

If you want to connect with surveyors across the UK and keep up with the profession, join The Surveying Room. It is free to join and open to all types of surveyors, students, and professionals who work with them. Surveyors UK & The Surveying Room

Connect with me - Nina Young on LinkedIn

Summary
David Coplin-Chard, a founder & director of Landview Surveyors, joins me to share his journey from estate agency into residential surveying. We talk about branding, communication, and why soft skills are just as important as technical knowledge.

A practical and honest conversation about building a business, standing out, and improving the home buying experience.

What We Cover

• Moving into surveying from estate agency
• Soft skills and communication in surveying
• Managing difficult situations on site
• Survey timing and the buying process
• Building a brand in surveying
• The importance of reviews
• Social media for surveyors
• AI and the future of surveying
• Career advice for new surveyors

Guest Links:

David Coplin-Chard - linkedin.com/in/david-coplin-chard-827599203

Useful Links:

Landview Surveyors- landviewsurveyors.co.uk

Guest Bio
David Coplin-Chard is a founder & director of Landview Surveyors. He is a residential surveyor and business owner with a background in estate agency. He transitioned into surveying through the Sava route and has since built a growing brand in the residential surveying space. Known for his strong communication skills and presence on social media, David focuses on improving client experience, modernising how surveyors present themselves, and building a recognisable brand in a traditionally low-visibility profession.

This episode is sponsored by Rebuild Cost UK, a pay-as-you-go rebuild cost calculator built for residential surveyors. No subscriptions, no annual contracts, you only pay when you run a calculation. Try your very first calculation free at rebuildcost.uk.

If you want to connect with surveyors across the UK and keep up with the profession, join The Surveying Room. It is free to join and open to all types of surveyors, students, and professionals who work with them. Surveyors UK & The Surveying Room

Connect with me - Nina Young on LinkedIn