PI requirements · CILEx Regulation · As at September 2026

CILEx-regulated firms’ PI insurance requirements

If CILEx Regulation regulates your firm you must hold PII meeting the CILEx minimum wording, with a £2 million limit for any one claim. Here is the current requirement, its basis, the run-off rule, and how to judge whether it is enough.

Part of: PI insurance requirements by professional body

In short

CILEx Regulation requires the firms it regulates to hold professional indemnity insurance meeting the CILEx minimum wording, with a minimum limit of indemnity of £2 million for any one claim, exclusive of defence costs. A firm must not exclude liability below that £2 million minimum; cover above it is on the insurer’s terms. The minimum wording provides run-off cover to the sixth anniversary of the end of the policy period where there is no successor practice. These figures are the position as at September 2026; verify the current requirement with CILEx Regulation, as the rules change. Apex is an independent, director-owned broker that checks the wording meets the minimum, not just the figure, and returns competing quotes.

What CILEx Regulation requires

CILEx Regulation regulates firms authorised to deliver legal services through Chartered Legal Executives and other CILEx practitioners. It requires those firms to hold professional indemnity insurance that meets the CILEx PII minimum wording. The minimum limit of indemnity is £2 million.

Under clause 2.1 of the minimum wording, that limit is for any one claim, exclusive of defence costs — an each-and-every-claim basis. The £2 million minimum applies regardless of the actual wording of the policy, and a firm must not exclude or limit liability below it; cover above £2 million is available on the insurer’s terms. Insurers offering cover to CILEx-regulated firms must meet the minimum wording.

Rule and date. CILEx Regulation PII Rules and the CILEx PII Minimum Wording — clause 2.1 (£2 million for any One Claim, exclusive of Defence Costs) and clause 1.3(a) (run-off to the sixth anniversary). As at September 2026 — verify the current requirement with CILEx Regulation (CILEx Regulation PII), as these requirements change.

Each claim vs aggregate: why the basis matters

Two policies can both say ‘£2 million’ and protect you very differently. The difference is the basis of the limit.

Each and every claim (or ‘any one claim’). The full limit is available for every separate claim, however many you face in a policy year. A firm on a £1 million each-and-every policy is covered for three £1 million claims in the same year.
In the aggregate. The limit is the most the insurer will pay in total across the whole year, added together. On a £1 million aggregate policy, those same three claims exhaust the cover after the first.

CILEx sets its £2 million minimum for any one claim, exclusive of defence costs, so the full limit is available for each claim and legal costs do not erode your clients’ protection.

This is why a firm holding £1 million in the aggregate can still fail a requirement written as ‘£1 million for any one claim’ — the number matches but the basis does not. Read the basis of your requirement, not just the figure, and check whether defence costs sit outside the limit or erode it.

Run-off: cover after you stop

Professional indemnity is written on a claims-made basis: the policy that answers a claim is the one in force when the claim is made or notified, not the one you held when you did the work. So when you stop trading, the cover does not follow your old work automatically — a claim can still arrive years later, and there is no live policy to meet it unless you have bought run-off cover.

The CILEx minimum wording (clause 1.3(a)) provides run-off cover ending on the sixth anniversary of the date the period of insurance ends, where there is no successor practice — six years’ run-off.

Run-off matters most on retirement, closure, a merger or a change of legal structure. A retroactive date that reaches back over all your past work is what keeps that earlier work covered; if you change insurer or broker, protecting that date is the point to watch.

Is the minimum enough?

A regulatory minimum is a floor, not a recommendation. CILEx Regulation sets the least cover you may hold and still practise; it does not promise the figure is enough for your work. A single claim on a large contract, a valuation, a set of accounts or a piece of advice can run well past the minimum once the loss and the other side’s legal costs are added.

£2 million is the floor for CILEx-regulated legal work; conveyancing, probate and litigation can generate claims above it, so firms handling higher-value matters should consider cover above the minimum.

Judge the limit against your own exposure: the size of the contracts you sign, the value of the work you touch, what your clients and their lenders require in writing, and your claims history. Our minimum-limit calculator and our guide to how much professional indemnity insurance you need walk through that. A broker’s job is to place the right limit, not just the lowest one you are allowed to buy.

How Apex helps you meet it

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 legal firms 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.

Owned by its directors, not for sale. No consolidator, no private-equity owner, no external shareholders — and we have declined approaches to buy the firm. Read the Apex Independence Charter.
Independent, not tied. No single-insurer scheme, no in-house policy, no placement quotas — the recommendation is the one that fits, not the one we are paid to push.
Over 30 markets, including Lloyd’s. Specialist UK PI insurers and Lloyd’s syndicates via wholesale, so a risk that one underwriter dislikes can still be placed properly with another.
Usually three or four competing quotes, laid out side by side — limit, excess, retroactive date, exclusions and premium — with a plain-language note on the trade-offs.
The stay-put letter. If your existing cover is right, we say so in writing, free and without obligation. How the stay-put letter works.
A named broker all year. The person who places your cover is the person who picks up the phone at renewal, on a mid-term change, or when a letter of claim lands.
Director-level attention on claims. We help you notify circumstances early and in the right form, stay involved once the insurer’s panel solicitors are appointed, and tell you plainly where you stand.
Directly authorised by the FCA since 2016, not an appointed representative trading under someone else’s permissions.

Frequently asked

What is the minimum PI insurance for a CILEx-regulated firm?

CILEx Regulation requires cover meeting the CILEx minimum wording, with a minimum limit of indemnity of £2 million for any one claim, exclusive of defence costs. A firm must not exclude liability below that £2 million. This is the position as at September 2026; confirm the current requirement with CILEx Regulation.

Is the CILEx limit per claim or in aggregate?

Per claim. Under clause 2.1 of the CILEx minimum wording the £2 million is for any one claim, exclusive of defence costs, so the full limit is available for each separate claim and legal costs are paid on top rather than eroding it. That is why the wording matters as much as the £2 million figure.

Do CILEx firms need run-off cover, and for how long?

Yes. The CILEx minimum wording provides run-off cover ending on the sixth anniversary of the end of the policy period, where there is no successor practice — six years. Professional indemnity is claims-made, so run-off is the live policy that answers a claim brought after the firm has closed.

What is a successor practice, and why does it matter?

A successor practice is a firm that effectively takes over another’s work, and it can pick up responsibility for insuring the predecessor’s past liabilities. Where there is a successor practice, the six-year run-off provision may not apply in the same way because the successor’s cover responds instead. If you are closing or merging, check how run-off falls with a broker.

What if my firm does more than one type of legal work?

The £2 million minimum applies to the firm, and the wording must not exclude a service you actually provide — conveyancing, probate or litigation, for example. If you carry on activities regulated by another body as well, you may need to meet that regulator’s requirement too. A broker checks the cover fits the whole practice.

Is the CILEx minimum enough?

It is a floor. £2 million any one claim suits many firms, but conveyancing, probate and litigation can generate larger claims once loss and costs are added, so firms handling higher-value matters often buy above the minimum. Our calculator and how-much guide help you size the right limit.

Who checks that my firm complies?

CILEx Regulation, as your regulator. Regulated firms confirm they hold conforming PII on the CILEx minimum wording and must be able to evidence it; the insurer must be prepared to meet the minimum wording. Failing to hold compliant cover is a regulatory breach that CILEx Regulation can act on.

Check your cover meets the minimum

Send your current schedule and renewal terms. A named Apex broker checks the limit, basis and run-off against your body’s requirement and returns competing quotes set out so you can compare them like for like. Or call 0117 325 0027.

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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 professional indemnity insurance requirements, not advice on your individual circumstances, and it does not set, guarantee or replace the rules of any professional body or regulator. Every requirement shown is the position as at September 2026 against the source linked beside it; these requirements change, so confirm the current rule with the body itself before you rely on it. Apex does not set or enforce any professional body’s minimum.