Aipedia: data

Compulsory PI by profession: UK minimum limits and rules

Aipedia data, by the Apex broking team · Last updated 2026-10-30

PI is compulsory for many UK regulated professions, but minimum limits vary widely and some regulators set none. This table shows, for 57 professions, the source rule, any stated minimum and whether the rule mentions AI.

Part of: Aipedia

In short

Professional indemnity cover is compulsory for solicitors, barristers, CLC conveyancers, accountants, tax advisers, architects, RICS-regulated firms, FCA advice and intermediary firms and registered health professionals, among others. Stated minimums run from £50,000 for some bookkeepers to £5m in the aggregate for osteopaths, while statutory health indemnity usually sets none. Many professions, including IT, marketing, HR and management consultants, have no PI rule. No PI rule or minimum wording we reviewed names AI; RICS links the two through client disclosure.

How to read the table

This table records whether professional indemnity (PI) insurance or an equivalent indemnity arrangement is compulsory for each of the 57 professions in Aipedia, as at 30 October 2026. Read it with these points in mind.

"Compulsory" means a statute, regulator or professional-body rule requires cover. Where the requirement comes only from membership of a voluntary body, the table says so.
"Not set" means the rule requires cover but sets no minimum limit, or no rule was found. "No statutory requirement found" is used exactly where our facts sheet says so.
Minimum limits are shown only where the rule itself states one. Where we could not verify a figure, the table says so rather than guessing.
The last column asks whether the PI rule or minimum wording mentions AI. A separate AI publication that touches insurance is noted where relevant.

Each profession name links to its Aipedia hub, which covers the PI position in more depth.

PI requirements by profession: the table

Legal services

Every legal profession in this group has a PI requirement, though for will writers it comes only from voluntary codes. The table below sets out each one.

Profession	Is PI compulsory?	Source rule	Minimum limit or terms (where the rule states one)	Does the rule mention AI?
Solicitors and law firms	Yes	SRA Indemnity Insurance Rules r.2.1; Minimum Terms and Conditions (Annex 1)	£3m any one claim for relevant recognised bodies and licensed bodies, £2m otherwise (cl.2.1); defence costs unlimited; closed list of permitted exclusions (cl.6)	No. None of the permitted exclusions refers to AI
Conveyancers and property lawyers	Yes for CLC practices (licence condition); SRA rules for solicitor firms	CLC PII arrangements; CLC Minimum Terms (1 Jul 2022)	£2m each and every claim; six years' run-off at £2m aggregate on closure	No. The CLC MTC does not mention AI
Patent and trade mark attorneys	Yes for attorneys serving the public	IPReg Code 3.9 to 3.12 and Minimum Terms (2021-22)	Minimum figures set in the Minimum Terms; MTC includes express affirmative cyber cover (cl.1.1.7)	No IPReg statement on AI and PII found
Barristers	Yes for self-employed barristers (membership of the Bar's mutual indemnity fund)	BSB PI requirements; Minimum Terms of Cover (1 Jul 2019)	£500,000 each and every claim (cl.2.1); defence costs in addition; closed list of permitted exclusions	No. None of the permitted exclusions refers to AI or technology
Chartered legal executives	Yes for CRL-authorised entities	CILEx PII Rules and Qualifying Insurers Agreement	£2m minimum, applying regardless of the actual wording	No. The CRL page does not mention AI or cyber
Will writers and estate planners	Not statutory; compulsory for IPW and SWW members	IPW Code cl.1.7; SWW Code cl.2.12	At least £2m	No published statement on AI and PI

Accountancy, tax, audit and actuarial

Accountancy bodies use income-linked minimums. The table below shows the main rules.

Profession	Is PI compulsory?	Source rule	Minimum limit or terms (where the rule states one)	Does the rule mention AI?
Accountants	Yes for ICAEW, ACCA and AAT licensed practices	ICAEW PII Regulations (1 Sep 2024); ACCA PII rules; AAT PII	ICAEW: £2m, or 2.5 times fee income with a £250,000 floor below £800,000 fee income (regs 3.2, 3.3). ACCA: greater of 2.5 times income or £100,000 below £600,000; £1.5m at £600,000 or more. AAT: greater of 2.5 times fees or £50,000 (sole traders) or £100,000; maximum required £1m	No. The rules reviewed contain nothing AI-specific
Auditors	Yes (ICAEW rules cover audit bodies, reg 2.1)	ICAEW PII Regulations; ACCA rules; Companies Act 2006 s.534 liability limitation agreements	As ICAEW above; excess cap the higher of £3,000 or 3% of fee income	No regulator statement on AI and auditors' PI found
Tax advisers	Yes for CIOT and ATT members in practice; not an HMRC registration condition	CIOT/ATT Compulsory PII Regulations (1 Jan 2023)	£1m each and every claim; below £400,000 fee income, the greater of 2.5 times fee income or £100,000; six years' cover after ceasing	No. Nothing published by CIOT, ATT or HMRC
Bookkeepers	Yes for ICB public practitioners and AAT licensed members; IAB requires proof for AML supervision	ICB s.27(c); AAT; IAB AML supervision	ICB £50,000 minimum; AAT as above; IAB no minimum stated	No. Nothing published by ICB, IAB or AAT
Insolvency practitioners	Yes (IPA PII guidance); statutory bond also required	IPA PII guidance; ICAEW PII Regulations; IP Regulations 2005 Sch 2 (bond)	ICAEW £2m or 2.5 times fee income (£250,000 floor); IPA maximum excess £20,000 per principal; bond is not PI	No RPB or insurer statement found
Actuaries	No IFoA rule found; FCA rules apply to FCA-authorised firms	None found	Not set	No
Payroll bureaux	No statutory requirement found; professional body rules apply inside a regulated practice	ICAEW, ACCA, AAT or ICB rules where relevant	Not set for bureaux as such	No
Company formation and secretarial agents	No statutory requirement found	ICAEW, ACCA or SRA rules where the agent is within a regulated firm	Not set	No

Property, construction and environment

Only architects, RICS-regulated firms and Landscape Institute members face a regulator PI rule in this group. The table below shows the position for each.

Profession	Is PI compulsory?	Source rule	Minimum limit or terms (where the rule states one)	Does the rule mention AI?
Surveyors and valuers	Yes for RICS-regulated firms	RICS PII Requirements v11 (1 Jul 2025); Approved Minimum Wording	By prior-year turnover: up to £100,000, £250,000; £100,001 to £200,000, £500,000; over £200,000, £1m. Each and every claim; consumer run-off £1m aggregate for six years	Wording: no. The RICS AI standard (4.3) requires terms to state PI cover for AI use "if available"
Quantity surveyors	Yes for RICS-regulated firms; non-RICS set by appointment	RICS PII Requirements v11	As surveyors above	As surveyors above
Estate and letting agents	No statutory requirement found; Propertymark requires PI for "Propertymark Protected"	Propertymark PI rules	£100,000 (no lettings); £150,000 or £500,000 for lettings by fee income; £2m for client accounting service providers	No regulator statement found
Architects	Yes for registered architects	Architects Code Standard 4 and ARB PII guidance (19 Jun 2025)	£250,000 each and every claim; six years' run-off (five in Scotland)	No. The guidance does not mention AI, cyber or technology
Structural and civil engineers	No statutory compulsory PI	Usually set by appointment or contract	Not set	No published statement
Building services engineers	Not compulsory by statute; CIBSE Code 3.8 requires PI where appropriate	CIBSE Code 3.8	Not set	No
Principal designers and building safety	No statutory requirement found	Set by appointments and the designer's own profession (ARB, RICS)	Not set for the role	No
Building control approvers	RBCAs must hold adequate insurance; the rules do not name PI	BSR Professional Conduct Rules, Annex 1 para 1.10	No minimum limit, policy terms or run-off set	No BSR statement found
Planning consultants	No statutory requirement found; RICS rules if RICS-regulated	RICS PII Requirements v11 where relevant	Not set outside RICS	No
Project managers	No statutory requirement found; RICS rules if RICS-regulated	RICS PII Requirements v11 where relevant	RICS bands where relevant; otherwise not set	No APM statement found
Interior designers	Not compulsory by statute; BIID requires Registered Interior Designers to hold PI	BIID Code clause 7	No minimum limit set	No
Landscape architects	Yes for LI members and Registered Practices	LI Code Rule 5	No minimum limit	No
Fire risk assessors	No statutory requirement found	None; certification schemes may require it	Not set	No
Energy assessors and retrofit coordinators	Schemes must provide for indemnity arrangements; TrustMark sets a minimum for retrofit coordinators	2012 Regulations reg 22(3)(e); TrustMark scheme requirements	Retrofit coordinators: £250k PI and PL per property, or as required by the client	No
Ecologists and environmental consultants	No statutory PI requirement; CIEEM expects "appropriate levels"	CIEEM Code supplementary note	Not set	No

Financial services

FCA prudential rules set PI for most advice and intermediary firms. The table below summarises them.

Profession	Is PI compulsory?	Source rule	Minimum limit or terms (where the rule states one)	Does the rule mention AI?
Financial advisers	Yes	IPRU-INV 13.1.5R	Relevant income up to £3m: £500,000 per claim and aggregate; over £3m: £650,000 and £1m; IDD intermediaries EUR 1,300,380 and EUR 1,924,560	No. Excluding past or current business lines requires extra capital (13.1.21R)
Mortgage brokers	Yes	MIPRU 3.2.1R	Non-MCD: higher of 10% of income (up to £1m) and £100,000 per claim or £500,000 aggregate; MCD: EUR 460,000 and EUR 750,000	No FCA statement found
Insurance brokers	Yes	MIPRU 3.2.1R and 3.2.7R	EUR 1,300,380 per claim; aggregate the higher of EUR 1,924,560 or 10% of annual income (capped at £30m)	No FCA statement found
Wealth managers and discretionary fund managers	Depends on prudential category	IPRU-INV 13 (personal investment firms); IPRU-INV 11 (collective portfolio managers)	As financial advisers for personal investment firms; check MIFIDPRU for your firm type	No FCA statement found
Claims management companies	Yes for personal injury claims management only	CMCOB 7.4	£250,000 any one claim and £500,000 aggregate; excess no more than £10,000	No AI reference
Debt advice firms	No FCA PI requirement found in CONC 8	None found	Not set	No

Health and care

Most registered health professionals need an indemnity arrangement by statute, usually without a minimum limit. The table below sets out each.

Profession	Is PI compulsory?	Source rule	Minimum limit or terms (where the rule states one)	Does the rule mention AI?
Doctors and medical practices	Yes, by statute	Medical Act 1983 s.44C	No minimum limit set; cover must reflect the full scope of practice	No
Dentists	Yes, by statute	Dentists Act 1984 s.26A and s.36L; GDC indemnity guidance	No minimum limit set by the GDC	No
Nurses and allied health professionals	Yes, by statute	Nursing and Midwifery Order 2001 art 12A; HSWPO 2001 art 11A (SI 2014/1887)	No minimum limit set by the NMC or HCPC	No
Pharmacists and pharmacies	Yes, by statute	Pharmacy Order 2010 art 32; GPhC indemnity requirements	No minimum limit	No
Optometrists and opticians	Yes under GOC standards	GOC Standard 12.2	No minimum limit stated; run-off for complaints after practice ends (12.2.4)	No
Osteopaths and chiropractors	Yes, by statute	SI 2015/693 (osteopaths); SI 2015/1511 (chiropractors)	£5,000,000 in the aggregate (Rule 5); run-off required (Rule 6)	Rules: no. The GOsC AI guidance says check whether insurers require an AI declaration
Veterinary surgeons and practices	Yes under the RCVS Code	RCVS Code para 3.4 and guidance 17.17 to 17.20	No minimum limit and no run-off requirement stated	No
Counsellors and psychotherapists	No statutory requirement; compulsory for BACP members	BACP Ethical Framework 2026 4.2(a)	No minimum	No
Social workers	No PI requirement in SWE standards; BASW advises independent social workers to hold it	BASW guidance for independent social workers	Not set	No
Occupational health providers	Yes for individual clinicians by statute; no statutory requirement identified for OH companies	Medical Act s.44C; NMC Order art 12A; HSWPO art 11A	No minimum limits	No
Aesthetics clinics	Yes for healthcare professionals; no statutory PI requirement for non-healthcare practitioners in England at present	Medical Act s.44C and equivalents	No minimum	No

Business services, people and public-interest bodies

Most of these professions have no regulator PI rule; client contracts usually decide. The table below records what we found.

Profession	Is PI compulsory?	Source rule	Minimum limit or terms (where the rule states one)	Does the rule mention AI?
Data protection consultants	No statutory or professional-body requirement found	None	Not set	No
IT consultants and developers	No statutory or BCS requirement found	Client contracts	Not set	No
Marketing and PR agencies	No statutory or professional-body requirement found	Client contracts	Not set	No
Management consultants	No statutory or professional-body minimum found	Client contracts and frameworks	Not set	No
HR consultants	No statutory or CIPD requirement found	None	Not set	No
Recruitment agencies	No statutory requirement found	No REC or APSCo minimum published	Not set	No
Translators and interpreters	No statutory requirement found	Set by contract terms	Not set	No
Training providers and educators	No statutory requirement found	None	Not set	No
Event and wedding planners	No statutory or professional-body requirement found	Client and venue contracts	Not set	No
Charities and trustees	No statutory requirement to buy TII, D&O or PI	Charities Act 2011 s.189 (power to buy); CC49	Insurance cannot cover criminal fines or regulatory penalties (s.189(2)(a))	No
Schools, academies and governors	No statutory requirement found; academies may join the RPA	RPA membership rules for academy trusts (Sep 2026)	RPA governors' liability £10,000,000; RPA professional indemnity unlimited, £1,000 member retention	No mention of AI in the RPA rules

Minimum terms versus your actual exposure

A regulatory minimum is a floor, not a recommendation. The minimum sets what a regulator requires so that clients are protected to a basic level. It does not reflect the value of the work you do, the contracts you sign or the size of a worst-case claim.

Several points in the table show the gap between minimum terms and real exposure.

RICS bands start at £250,000 for firms with turnover up to £100,000 (RICS PII Requirements v11). A single valuation or survey error on a high-value property can exceed that.
Health regulators require an indemnity arrangement but set no minimum limit. The GPhC says cover should be sufficient to meet liabilities if a claim is made.
NHS state indemnity does not cover private work, occupational health work or data protection breaches (NHS Resolution scope table). Practitioners with private or mixed work usually need their own arrangement.
Where no rule exists, as for IT, marketing, HR and management consultants, client contracts commonly set the limit and terms, sometimes higher than any regulator would.
In 2021 the government decided not to make PI mandatory for tax advisers (summary of responses), although CIOT and ATT members in practice must hold it.

When setting a limit, firms usually consider their largest contract, contractual requirements, the run-off period after work ends and whether claims could aggregate.

AI and PI: what the rules say

No PI rule in the table names artificial intelligence. That cuts both ways, and the effect depends on the policy wording.

Listed exclusions: the SRA and BSB minimum terms allow only a closed list of exclusions, and the CLC terms list theirs; none refers to AI. Apex reads the SRA and BSB lists as leaving no room for an AI-specific exclusion in the compulsory layer, though top-up layers bought on the open market can differ.
Cyber and data protection carve-outs: the SRA and RICS wordings allow exclusions for cyber events and data protection breaches, and the SRA terms must still preserve civil liability cover. The CLC terms include a cyber-related losses affirmation, and the RICS minimum wording states cover is not restricted solely because a computer system is used.
FCA firms: excluding past or current business lines from a personal investment firm's PI requires extra capital under IPRU-INV 13.1.21R, which is relevant if an insurer proposes a broad AI exclusion.
RICS firms: the AI standard requires terms of engagement to state the extent of PI cover for AI use "if available" (4.3). CMS notes the standard is likely to inform how negligence claims against surveyors are judged.
Health: one medical defence organisation limits help to cases where a human remains the decision maker and excludes autonomous systems and software defects. Its help is discretionary and it states it is not an insurer.
Osteopaths: the GOsC tells registrants to check whether insurers require a declaration about AI use.

Where cover is voluntary, AI exclusions or questions are purely a matter of contract. Many PI policies are written to respond to negligent professional work whatever tools were used, subject to the policy terms, but practitioners should check proposal questions and any new technology wording at renewal.

Sources

Frequently asked

Which UK professions must hold PI insurance by law or regulation?

Compulsory PI or indemnity applies to solicitors, CLC conveyancers, self-employed barristers, CILEX entities, patent attorneys, ICAEW, ACCA and AAT accountants, CIOT and ATT tax advisers, insolvency practitioners, architects, RICS-regulated firms, FCA advice and intermediary firms, personal injury claims managers, and registered health professionals. Many others have no requirement.

Does any PI rule in the UK mention AI?

No PI rule or minimum wording we reviewed names AI. The RICS AI standard links the two by requiring terms of engagement to state the extent of PI cover for AI use "if available", and the GOsC tells osteopaths to check insurer declarations.

Is the regulatory minimum enough cover?

Not necessarily. The minimum protects clients to a basic level and may be well below the value of your largest job, your contractual requirements or a realistic worst-case claim. Firms commonly buy above the minimum, often through a top-up layer.

Can an insurer exclude AI-assisted work from compulsory PI?

In the SRA, CLC and BSB minimum terms, no permitted exclusion refers to AI. Top-up layers and voluntary policies are a matter of contract, so the position depends on the wording.

Do health professionals have a minimum PI limit?

Statute requires an appropriate indemnity arrangement for doctors, dentists, nurses, allied health professionals and pharmacists, but no minimum limit is set. Osteopaths and chiropractors are the exception, with £5,000,000 in the aggregate under their Rules.

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Apex 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.