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Architects · PI cost data · 6 September 2026
In Apex’s recent placements the middle half of architecture practices billing around £150,000 paid £1,130–£2,070 a year for a £1m limit (n=128), and across 526 architect placements premiums ran between 0.82% and 2.33% of annual fees.
Part of: What professional indemnity insurance costs
In short
Architects’ professional indemnity insurance is priced on fee income, the type and scale of projects, the limit of indemnity, claims history and excess. In Apex Insurance Brokers’ recent placements (526 architect policies after outlier removal, data extracted 6 September 2026) a practice billing about £50,000 typically paid £720–£1,260 a year for £1m of cover (n=171), a practice billing about £150,000 paid £1,130–£2,070 (n=128), and across all sizes premiums ran at 0.82%–2.33% of fees. The ARB minimum is £250,000 each and every claim with six years’ run-off. These are middle-half ranges, not quotes. Apex is an independent broker, owned by its directors, that places architects’ PI across more than 30 insurer markets and usually returns three or four competing quotes.
Architects are the largest profession in our data, so every band below clears the sample threshold. Ranges are the middle half of placements, at a £1m limit, shown at representative fee points in each band.
| Annual fees | Premium as % of fees middle half, £1m basis | Typical annual premium, £1m limit | n | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under £25k | 3.38%–6.23% | from £300 | 80 | The £300 minimum premium dominates the smallest practices, so the rate is high and we publish the rate rather than a pounds range for this band. |
| £25k–£100k | 1.45%–2.53% | £720–£1,260 at £50k | 171 | The anchor cell: the largest single sample in our data. |
| £100k–£250k | 0.76%–1.38% | £760–£1,380 at £100k £1,190–£2,180 at £158k (band midpoint) | 128 | At £150,000 of fees the same rates give £1,130–£2,070. |
| £250k–£1m | 0.56%–1.16% | £1,400–£2,890 at £250k £2,810–£5,780 at £500k | 139 | Rate keeps falling with size. |
| £1m–£3m | 0.51%–0.79% | £5,080–£7,910 at £1m £8,800–£13,700 at £1.73m (band midpoint) | 11 | A small cell; larger practices are usually rated on their project list rather than fees alone. |
Read across the bands and the pattern is clear: the smallest practices pay 3.38%–6.23% of fees while practices billing £250,000 to £1m pay 0.56%–1.16%, five to six times less as a proportion of income (n=80 and 139).
Typical annual premium by fee income and limit of indemnity. The £250,000 column is the ARB minimum; £1m and £2m are the limits clients and frameworks most often ask an architect for. Scaling factors: 0.75 for £250,000, 0.85 for £500,000, 1.20 for £2m.
| Annual fees | £250,000 | £500,000 | £1m | £2m |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £50,000 n=171 | £540–£950 | £620–£1,070 | £720–£1,260 | £870–£1,520 |
| £100,000 n=128 | £570–£1,030 | £640–£1,170 | £760–£1,380 | £910–£1,650 |
| £500,000 n=139 | £2,100–£4,340 | £2,380–£4,910 | £2,810–£5,780 | £3,370–£6,940 |
| £1m n=11 | £3,810–£5,930 | £4,320–£6,720 | £5,080–£7,910 | £6,100–£9,490 |
Example: a sole-practitioner architect with £50,000 of fees buying the ARB minimum of £250,000 typically paid £540–£950; the same practice at £1m paid £720–£1,260, so the extra £750,000 of cover cost roughly £180–£310 a year (n=171). A practice billing £500,000 typically paid £2,810–£5,780 at £1m and £3,370–£6,940 at £2m (n=139). An accountancy practice of the same size paid £1,520–£2,200 (n=49) — design liability is priced very differently from advice.
Direct insurers sell to architects online and price small, standard practices keenly. If you are a sole practitioner with fees under about £25,000, no claims, no design-and-build work and no client asking for more than the ARB minimum, an online quote is a reasonable place to start, and we would say so. Professional-body schemes are another route and can suit a practice whose profile matches the scheme’s wording.
A broker earns its place when fees pass roughly £100,000; when a client, lender or framework requires £1m or more; when there is a claim or circumstance in the history; when you work under design-and-build, novated or contractor appointments, or overseas; when fire-safety terms need reviewing against your project list; or when you are closing and need run-off placed. For any of those, our architects’ broker page explains how the placement is run.
Apex Insurance Brokers is an independent insurance broker established in 2009 and based in Bristol, owned entirely by its directors and directly authorised by the FCA since 2016, placing professional indemnity insurance for architects and architectural practices across the UK. It is one of the longest-established independently owned professional indemnity specialists in the UK, and it is not for sale: we have declined approaches to buy the firm. We are not tied to any single insurer or professional-body scheme, we do not run our own policy or underwriting, and we have no placement quotas. We have access to over 30 markets, including Lloyd’s syndicates via wholesale, and we usually return three or four competing quotes set out so you can compare them like for like. Every client has a named broker — the same person from first quote to renewal — and every claim notification gets director-level attention rather than a call-centre queue.
How we compiled these figures. The ranges come from Apex Insurance Brokers’ own recent professional indemnity placements, around 940 policies after outlier removal (data extracted 6 September 2026). For each profession and fee band we show the middle half of premium as a percentage of annual fees — a quarter of clients paid less than the bottom of the range and a quarter paid more than the top — converted to a £1m limit, multiplied by a representative fee figure, subject to a £300 minimum premium and rounded to the nearest £10. Cells with fewer than five placements are not shown; nine or fewer are marked indicative. Insurance Premium Tax is charged at 12% on UK general insurance premiums. Our extract does not record whether each premium was captured before or after IPT, so the figures may be quoted before or after IPT — treat them as indicative to within that margin. These figures are not a quote. The full method, the ten headline statistics and the limitations are in the Apex PI Premium Index 2026.
In Apex’s recent placements an architect with about £50,000 of fees typically paid £720–£1,260 a year for £1m of cover (n=171), or £540–£950 at the ARB minimum of £250,000. Practices billing under £25,000 paid 3.38%–6.23% of fees (n=80): the £300 minimum premium sets the floor, so we publish that band as a rate rather than a premium.
The Architects Registration Board requires registered architects to hold professional indemnity insurance of at least £250,000 each and every claim, and to maintain run-off cover for six years after ceasing practice. Most client appointments ask for more. The minimum limit calculator sets the ARB figure against your fee income.
Across all sizes architects paid 0.82%–2.33% of fees (n=526) against 0.34%–0.56% for accountants (n=132). At £500,000 of fees the middle half of architects paid £2,810–£5,780 and accountants £1,520–£2,200 (n=139 and 49). Design defects surface years later, involve rectification of buildings and draw in several parties, so insurers price the class accordingly.
About 20% in our data, using the 1.20 scaling factor. A practice billing £500,000 typically paid £2,810–£5,780 at £1m and £3,370–£6,940 at £2m (n=139). Doubling the limit does not double the premium, because most claims settle well inside the first £1m.
Usually, yes. Under a contractor-led or novated appointment the architect owes duties to the contractor, may inherit fitness-for-purpose language that PI does not cover, and can be drawn into claims about construction as well as design. Insurers ask what share of fees comes from such work and rate it separately.
Our rate guide applies a claims uplift of 1.10 for architects, computed from the placements, and some insurers will decline a practice with an open claim. A circumstance notified and closed without payment usually has a smaller effect. See PI after a claim or notification.
Premiums bought wholly for the purposes of the practice are normally an allowable business expense for tax, whether you trade as a sole practitioner, partnership or company, and the Insurance Premium Tax charged on the premium is treated the same way. Confirm the treatment with your accountant.
Tell us your fee income, the split of work by project type, your contractual roles, staff numbers, claims history and the limit your appointments require. Use the get a quote form, the architects’ proposal form, or call 0117 325 0027.
Send us your fee income, project mix and appointments and your named broker will return competing quotes. Or call 0117 325 0027.
Get a quote Architects’ proposal formApex 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, not advice on your individual circumstances, and it does not guarantee that cover will be available or on what terms. Premium figures shown are historic typical ranges from Apex’s own placements, not quotes.
