Professional Indemnity Insurance from £7.00/month

Professional indemnity insurance for UK consultants & firms

Professional indemnity (PI) insurance covers your business against claims that your advice, design or professional service caused a client financial loss. It's compulsory for solicitors, accountants, architects, surveyors, financial advisers, brokers and many design-and-build contractors — and is increasingly required by commercial clients, JCT contracts and local authorities for everything from IT consulting to marketing.

What PI insurance covers

• Negligent advice or service that causes the client financial loss
• Design errors — wrong specification, missed code, errors in drawings or calculations
• Breach of professional duty
• Defamation, libel and slander arising from your professional work
• Dishonesty of employees (including IP theft)
• Loss of documents in your care
• Defence costs for claims, including unfounded ones

Typical PI pricing in 2026

• Marketing consultant (£100k turnover, £250k PI): £35.00–£68.00/mo
• IT consultant / developer (£250k turnover, £1m PI): £75.00–£165.00/mo
• Architect (£500k turnover, £1m PI): £180.00–£385.00/mo
• Solicitor (per fee earner, £3m SRA minimum): £1,200.00–£2,800.00/yr per fee earner
• Surveyor (RICS, £1m PI): £220.00–£480.00/mo
• Financial adviser (FCA, £1.85m PI): £180.00–£950.00/mo

The "claims made" basis and run-off cover

PI is almost always written on a claims-made basis: it covers claims notified during the policy period, regardless of when the work was done — but only if the policy was in force continuously since the work. The moment you let PI lapse, all your historic work becomes uninsured. When you close or sell the business you need run-off cover for typically 6 years (longer for surveyors, architects and solicitors) to cover claims that emerge after you stop trading. We build run-off into every PI quote and remind you about it at renewal.

Common questions about professional indemnity insurance

Who legally needs professional indemnity insurance?

PI is compulsory for solicitors (SRA), accountants (ICAEW / ACCA), architects (ARB), chartered surveyors (RICS), financial advisers (FCA) and insurance brokers (FCA). It is also commonly required by JCT contracts, local authorities and corporate clients for IT, marketing, design, engineering and management consultants — even where no regulator mandates it.

How much PI cover do I need?

Regulator minima vary: £3m for most solicitors, £1.85m for FCA-regulated advisers, £250k–£1m for many accountants. Beyond the minimum, the right limit depends on the largest single project value you work on and the contractual requirements of your clients — many corporate clients now require £2m–£5m as standard.

What does "claims-made" actually mean for my business?

The policy responds to claims notified during the current policy period, not to when the work was done — but only if cover has been continuous since the work. If you let PI lapse, every piece of historic advice becomes uninsured retrospectively. When you stop trading you should arrange run-off cover for the relevant limitation period.

Does PI cover defence costs for unfounded claims?

Yes — defence costs are covered from the first response, regardless of whether the claim ultimately succeeds. For most consultants the legal cost of defending an unfounded allegation can run into tens of thousands of pounds, which is why even risk-averse firms maintain PI.

For a PI quote, call 020 8908 2426.