Annual Underwriting Outlook 2027 — UK Professional Indemnity

A forward-looking view from a specialist broker's seat. Which insurers are opening capacity, which are closing it, what is expected across each profession in the coming twelve months. Publication schedule: Edition 1, November 2026 (this framework); full edition, November 2026.

Executive summary

The professional indemnity market for professional firms has passed the peak of the 2022-24 hard cycle and is now in a mixed state. Solicitors and architects, where regulatory long-tail (SRA MTC, BSA 2022) still applies, remain firmer than the wider commercial market. Accountants, IT consultants and management consultants — with shorter tail and better data — are trading more competitively than they have in three years. Cyber-PI overlap continues to drive underwriter thinking across every sector.

The five themes we expect to shape 2027:

1. Continued capacity return in the softer classes. New entrants are quoting on IT consultant, management consultant, HR consultant and general professional-services risks that were hard to place in 2023.
2. Sustained hardening in built-environment PI. The Building Safety Act 2022's thirty-year retrospective window is still working through the market. Expect exclusions, sub-limits and higher excesses for architects, principal designers and D&B contractors on completions dating back to the 1990s.
3. Cyber and PI convergence. Most PI insurers now scrutinise cyber controls at renewal. Firms without documented MFA, EDR and phishing training will see higher premiums or exclusions on cyber-related events.
4. Aggregation clause tightening. Post AIG Europe v Woodman and Dixon Coles, insurers are drafting more specific aggregation triggers. Some are moving to "series of related events" language that could be less favourable than the SRA MTC baseline.
5. Run-off pricing rising. Retiring firms are finding that six-year run-off is priced materially higher than three years ago. The gap between retirement decision and cover placement is narrowing. Firms planning a wind-down in 2027 should engage a broker in Q1.

1. Solicitors (SRA-regulated, 1 October cycle)

Direction of travel: stable to slightly softer for clean smaller firms; still firm for firms with claims history or heavy conveyancing exposure.

Capacity: the qualifying-insurer market remains broadly stable in headcount but individual insurer appetites shift each year. Some are increasing their smaller-firm allocation; others are pulling back on new firms with pre-2015 conveyancing files. The typical clean two-to-eight-partner firm outside London is finding four-to-six insurers quote at 1 October — a slight improvement on 2025.

Pricing: median premium as a percentage of fee income has stabilised in the 1.5% to 2.5% band for clean firms below £2m fee income. Firms with conveyancing exposure above 40% of fees run higher. Firms with any BSA 2022-adjacent risk (leasehold conveyancing on high-rise blocks, cladding-affected transactions) face materially higher rates.

Cover: aggregation wording remains SRA MTC standard, but insurers are increasingly adding specific carve-outs for cyber social engineering. Innocent-partner protection under SRA MTC 2.4 remains intact but excesses on dishonesty-adjacent claims are rising.

Firms most affected: those relying on a single conveyancer or property partner; those with legacy leasehold-cladding exposure; those where SRA notifications have been made in the last three years.

See the 1 October renewal walkthrough for the month-by-month timing.

2. Architects (ARB Standard 8, BSA 2022 exposure)

Direction of travel: still firm; further hardening for firms with pre-2022 tall-building exposure.

The Building Safety Act 2022 continues to reshape the architects' market. The retrospective thirty-year window under s.135 has extended potential claim tails on completions back to 1996. Insurers responded through 2024-25 with exclusions, sub-limits and higher excesses on high-rise residential exposure. That posture is not softening in 2026.

Capacity: fewer than eight PI insurers actively write standalone architects PI at limits above £5m. Below that, capacity is more available but still selective on tall-building exposure.

Pricing: 1% to 3% of fee income for clean firms without residential exposure; 3% to 6% or higher for firms with meaningful residential above eleven metres.

Cover: expect specific principal-designer exclusions or sub-limits for firms undertaking the role under BSA 2022. Non-net-contribution wording is a live negotiating point.

See the BSA 2022 s.135 principal designer deep-dive.

3. Accountants (ICAEW / ACCA)

Direction of travel: softening; the best market conditions accountants have seen since 2021.

Capacity: the ICAEW-compliant market has broadened. Firms below £1m fee income with clean claims records are typically getting five or more quotes.

Pricing: median 0.5% to 1.2% of fee income for clean smaller firms; 1.2% to 2.5% for medium firms with audit work; higher again for firms with material insolvency or investment-business exposure.

Cover: ICAEW's 2.5x fee-income minimum remains the floor. Higher-limit uplift is easier to negotiate than it was.

Firms most affected — POSITIVELY: sole practitioners and micro-firms who saw premiums step-change in 2022-23 are seeing meaningful reductions.

4. Surveyors (RICS Approved Wording)

Direction of travel: stable for commercial-only firms; firm for firms with residential valuation exposure.

The RICS Approved Wording was materially revised in late 2024 with a consumer/B2B split. That split is now working through the market. Some insurers are pricing consumer surveying exposure separately.

Capacity: around six major insurers write RICS-compliant PI at scale. Approved Wording compliance is checked at renewal.

Pricing: 1% to 2% of fee income for chartered surveyors on commercial work; 2% to 4% for firms with high residential valuation exposure; higher again for firms with negligent-valuation claims history.

5. Engineers (Engineering Council, ICE, IStructE)

Direction of travel: mixed. Structural and civil under BSA-adjacent pressure; MEP and consultancy trading normally.

Structural engineers and civil engineers with tall-building exposure face similar BSA 2022 posture to architects. MEP consultants, environmental consultants, transport engineers and process engineers trade in a more normal market.

Capacity: ten-plus insurers on general engineering PI; four to six on structural engineering with residential tall-building exposure.

Pricing: 1.5% to 3% of fee income for general engineering; 3% to 5% for structural with tall-building work.

6. IFAs (FCA-authorised)

Direction of travel: firm; Consumer Duty and BSPS legacy still material.

The Consumer Duty (PRIN 2A) came into force in 2023 for open products and 2024 for closed products. The FOS award limit remains at £430,000 which caps single-claim exposure but underwriters price for volume risk. BSPS defined-benefit-transfer claims are still working through.

Capacity: five to eight major PI insurers on IFA business. Firms without DB transfer exposure trade broadly; firms with historic DB transfer files face additional questions and often exclusions.

Pricing: 1% to 3% of fee income for clean firms; higher for those with historic DB transfer or discretionary-management exposure.

7. IT professionals and consultants

Direction of travel: softening; cyber-PI overlap the main renewal driver.

Capacity: broad. Both specialist PI insurers and cyber-heavy insurers are active. Firms need to make choices about whether PI and cyber sit on one policy or two.

Pricing: 0.5% to 1.5% of turnover for clean firms; higher for firms with major public-sector clients or SAP / financial-system integration exposure.

Cover: expect underwriters to want documented cyber controls (MFA, EDR, phishing training) even on the PI-only policy.

See cyber-PI overlap analysis.

8. Management consultants and adjacent professions

Direction of travel: softening.

Capacity: broadening as insurers move back into the space. HR consultants, marketing consultants, training consultants, executive coaches all seeing better market conditions than in 2023.

Pricing: 0.5% to 2% of turnover for most consultancy firms.

9. Cross-cutting themes for 2027

• Aggregation. Insurers are tightening aggregation wording. Firms should read the aggregation clause on every renewal, not assume it matches last year.
• Cyber controls. Documented MFA, EDR and phishing training now expected at renewal by most PI insurers.
• Run-off. Firms planning wind-down should engage a broker in Q1 for a Q3 or Q4 placement.
• BSA 2022 long-tail. The thirty-year retrospective window continues to affect architects, engineers, principal designers, D&B contractors and — where they were involved — solicitors on high-rise residential.
• Notification discipline. The gap between a "concern" and a "circumstance requiring notification" is narrowing in insurer thinking. Err on the side of notifying — see the first 30 days playbook.

Methodology

This outlook draws on Apex's own placement activity across professional-firm sectors during the 2025-26 policy year, insurer conversations conducted during Q3 2026, and publicly available FCA regulatory returns. Nothing in this outlook constitutes advice on any individual firm's PI position. Direction-of-travel commentary is deliberately general; firm-specific quotes are the only source of a specific price. Names of individual insurers are not published in this outlook consistent with COBS 4 on non-comparative and non-disparaging communications.

Author: Matthew Bartlett, Director, Apex Insurance Brokers Limited (FCA FRN 724952). Reviewed by Matthew Bartlett prior to publication.

Related Apex publications

• Solicitors PII Market Report — Smaller Firms UK 2026 (Ed 1)
• 1 October Solicitor PI Renewal Walkthrough
• Aggregation clauses by regulator
• Limitation Act 1980 in professional negligence
• Insurance Act 2015 — Fair Presentation
• Reports library