The required level of cover depends on the IFA's income and business type. Management consultants, business coaches, HR consultants, training providers, and similar advisory professionals sit outside the regulated professions framework in most cases, but they face very real PI exposure from the advice they provide.

9. IFA Practising Certificate PI requirements

Many specify minimum PI limits of £2 million, £3 million, or higher. 3.What is the highest-risk piece of advice or work you provide? Think about the downstream consequences if that advice is wrong. The potential financial impact on your client should inform your indemnity limit. 4.What level of excess can you comfortably absorb?

4.6 Disclosure obligations

A higher excess reduces your premium but means you pay more of each claim yourself. Make sure the excess is genuinely affordable without causing financial strain. Artemis Advice: bet best betting sites new customer offers We always recommend erring on the side of a higher indemnity limit rather than a lower one. The additional annual premium for moving from £500,000 to £1,000,000 of cover is often a few hundred pounds at most. The difference in protection it provides can be the difference between a business surviving a claim and one that does not.

12.5 Audit committee scrutiny

This is one of the most important technical distinctions in professional indemnity insurance, and one that many business owners overlook when comparing policies. The vast majority of PI insurance policies in the UK are written on a claims made basis. This means the policy that responds to a claim is the policy that is in force at the time the claim is made against you, not at the time the work was originally carried out. If a client makes a claim against you in 2026 for work you did in 2023, your 2026 policy responds. This has an important practical consequence: your PI cover must be continuous. A management consultant who recommends a business restructure that leads to significant losses, or an HR consultant whose advice results in an employment tribunal, can face claims that easily exceed the value of their original engagement. Cover starting at £250,000 is usually advisable, rising to £1 million or more for those working with larger organisations. PI insurance for technology businesses covers errors in software, systems design, data management, and technical advice.

Stage / Milestone	Recommended Time Before Start Date	Action Required
Initial research & obtaining quotes	8-12 weeks	Contact brokers, compare policies and premiums.
Submit formal PII application	4-6 weeks	Complete insurer's proposal form with accurate data.
Receive policy documentation	2-3 weeks before start	Review policy wording, schedule, and certificates.
Notify ACCA and provide evidence	Immediately upon receipt	Submit certificate of insurance via ACCA online portal.
Policy commencement	On first day of practice	Cover must be active before any client work begins.

With the bet best gambling offers uk UK cyber security and tech sector growing rapidly, this is an area where claims are increasingly common. Technology PI policies often include elements of cyber liability cover, or the two can be arranged as a combined package. Indemnity limits of £1 million to £5+ million are common for established technology businesses. The cheapest policy is rarely the best value. Wide variations exist between policies in terms of what is and is not covered, how claims are handled, and how cooperative the insurer is when you actually need to make a claim.

PII Limits for a Chartered Accountant

The same profession can carry very different premiums depending on the specific risk profile of the individual business. Selecting the lowest available premium without understanding the quality of the cover behind it is one of the most common and costly mistakes professionals make with PI insurance. A policy with a high excess, restrictive exclusions, or poor claims handling can leave you significantly exposed at exactly the moment you need your insurer to perform. The most accurate and reliable way to understand what PI insurance will cost for your specific business is to speak with an independent broker who has direct access to a wide panel of specialist PI insurers and understands the underwriting criteria each one applies to your profession. Call Artemis on 020 8619 5000 or email info@artemisltd.co.uk for a no-obligation PI insurance quote tailored to your profession and your risk profile.

Errors and Omissions

We will give you a real figure based on your actual situation, not a generic estimate. •Your profession and the nature of the work you do •The indemnity limit you require, for example £500,000 versus £5,000,000 •Your excess, which is the amount you contribute to each claim before the insurer pays •Your claims history over the previous five years •The size of individual contracts or projects you undertake •Whether your clients include public sector bodies or large organisations with higher risk profiles •Whether your work has an international element, as some policies exclude non-UK work Choosing the right indemnity limit is one of the most important decisions you will make when taking out a PI policy. Too low and you risk being underinsured when a significant claim is made . The starting point is your regulatory requirement, if you have one. Solicitors must comply with SRA minimum limits.

10.2 Group scheme considerations

For professions with no regulatory floor, consider the following questions. 1.What is the maximum fee value of any single contract or project you undertake? Your indemnity limit should typically be a multiple of this, not equal to it, because legal costs alone can easily exceed the value of the contract in dispute. 2.What do your clients contractually require? Check your standard client contracts and any frameworks or approved supplier lists you are registered on. Focus on the quality of the cover and the reputation of the insurer, not just the premium. Many professionals underestimate their indemnity limit because it seems adequate for their typical project values.

• Maintain a valid motor insurance certificate (Certificate of Motor Insurance) for each vehicle.
• Ensure the insurance policy covers at least third-party liability as a minimum legal requirement.
• Display a valid insurance disc on the vehicle's windscreen if required by local jurisdiction.
• Notify your insurer immediately of any changes to vehicle details or registered keeper.
• Inform the insurer of any modifications that could affect the vehicle's risk profile.

But a significant PI claim, particularly one involving lengthy litigation, can generate legal costs alone that run into hundreds of thousands of pounds before any damages are considered. The right indemnity level should reflect your worst-case risk exposure, not your average contract value. UK insurance law (the Insurance Act 2015) requires you to make a fair presentation of your risk to your insurer.

• Report any accident or incident to the insurer within the timeframe specified in the policy document.
• Cooperate fully with the insurer's appointed claims handler or loss adjuster during a claim.
• Do not admit liability at the scene of an accident; let the insurers handle the investigation.
• Obtain a police report for any accident involving injury, significant damage, or a hit-and-run.
• Keep detailed records and photographs of damage, the scene, and other parties involved.

This means disclosing all material facts, including your full claims history, the full range of services you provide, and any circumstances that could give rise to a claim that you are already aware of at the time of application. Failing to do so can result in your insurer declining to pay a claim or voiding your policy entirely.

The regulatory backdrop — what ICAEW, ACCA and AAT require

If you allow your policy to lapse, you lose protection for past work as well as current work. This is why it is critical to renew every year without a break, and why run-off cover (covered below) matters so much when you stop practising. Occurrence-based PI policies are less common in the UK market. With an occurrence policy, the policy that responds to a claim is the one that was in force at the time the work was done, regardless of when the claim is actually made. These policies can provide cover even after they have expired.

Related guides

Run-off cover is an extension to your professional indemnity insurance that continues to protect you from claims arising from past work after you have stopped trading, retired, or closed your business. Because PI policies are typically written on a claims made basis, simply letting your policy lapse when you close your business does not mean you are protected from future claims about past work. A client could bring a claim years after you have ceased trading. Run-off cover is particularly important for solicitors, accountants, architects, and any professional who has carried significant responsibility over a long period. In regulated professions, run-off requirements are often stipulated by the professional body.

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The SRA, for example, requires solicitors' practices to maintain run-off cover for a minimum of six years following closure. The cost of run-off cover varies depending on your profession, the level of cover, and the period for which it is required. Your broker should discuss run-off provisions at or before the point of any planned business closure or change in structure. Professional indemnity insurance for solicitors in the UK is mandatory under the SRA's Indemnity Insurance Rules. All solicitor practices must hold PI cover with an SRA-approved insurer. Because PI policies are typically claims made, allowing your policy to lapse even for a brief period can leave you without cover for past work during the gap period. Always renew before your existing policy expires, and if you are changing insurers, ensure there is no gap between the end of the old policy and the start of the new one. Business owners who close their company, retire, or restructure often overlook the need for run-off cover.

Why should accountants buy cover?

The minimum indemnity limit is £3 million for incorporated practices and £2 million for unincorporated practices. Artemis Insurance Brokers has relationships with leading Law Society-panel insurers and has been arranging solicitors PI insurance for over 20 years. We can access the specialist market for high-risk practice areas including conveyancing, litigation, and immigration law. Professional indemnity insurance for accountants is required for practising certificate holders with ICAEW, ACCA, CIMA, and most other accountancy bodies. The required cover level varies by body and by the size and type of the practice.

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Accountants carrying out audit work, insolvency, or investment business typically face higher premium levels due to the elevated risk profile of those activities. Architects registered with the ARB must hold adequate PI insurance as a condition of their registration. The ARB does not set a specific minimum indemnity limit but expects cover to be proportionate to the nature and scale of work undertaken. PI insurance for IFAs and financial advisers is required by the FCA as a condition of their authorisation. The FCA sets minimum indemnity requirements through the FCA Handbook (IPRU-INV rules). A claim can arrive years after the work was completed. Without run-off cover in place, there is no PI policy to respond to it. Professional indemnity insurance protects you financially if a client makes a claim against you because they believe your advice, your work, or your professional services caused them a financial loss. It can cover for the cost of defending the claim, including legal fees, and covers any compensation or damages you are required to pay if the claim succeeds. It is sometimes also called PI insurance or errors and omissions (E&O) insurance.