How much professional indemnity cover do I need? UK minimums and how to size above them

In short: You need at least the higher of your regulator’s minimum and the largest limit any client contract demands, plus headroom for your biggest realistic claim. Cover is subject to the policy terms, including whether defence costs sit inside the limit. Current regulator floors: solicitors £2m per claim (£3m for LLPs and limited companies); ICAEW accountants £2m, or 2.5× fee income with a £250k minimum if fees are under £800k; RICS firms £250k–£1m by turnover; IFAs €1,300,380 per claim if they also distribute insurance, otherwise from £500k; architects £250k each and every claim. These are floors, not targets — most client contracts demand more, and unregulated fields (consultants, IT, agencies) have no statutory minimum at all. Check your regulator’s minimum →

What “mandatory” means here

Regulated professions must hold professional indemnity insurance as a condition of being allowed to practise. The regulator sets “minimum terms” — the least cover, and the policy conditions, a firm must carry. Fall below them and you cannot lawfully trade. Unregulated professions face no legal minimum, but that rarely means no requirement: the obligation simply moves from the regulator to your clients’ contracts.

The mandatory PI minimums by profession (2026)

Every figure below is the current regulatory minimum limit of indemnity — the least cover you may hold and still practise — taken from each regulator’s own published rules (sources at the foot of the page).

Profession	Regulator	Minimum limit of indemnity	Key detail
Solicitors	SRA	£2,000,000 per claim; £3,000,000 for incorporated firms (LLPs/companies)	Exclusive of defence costs. SRA Minimum Terms & Conditions.
Accountants	ICAEW	£2,000,000 if gross fee income ≥ £800,000; otherwise 2.5× gross fee income, minimum £250,000	Rules updated 1 September 2024 (small-firm floor raised from £100k to £250k).
Chartered surveyors	RICS	£250,000 (turnover ≤£100k) / £500,000 (£100k–£200k) / £1,000,000 (turnover £200k+)	Max uninsured excess: the greater of 2.5% of sum insured or £10,000.
IFAs & personal investment firms	FCA	€1,300,380 per claim and €1,924,560 in aggregate (firms doing insurance-distribution work); investment-only firms follow £ tiers from £500,000	FCA Handbook, IPRU-INV 13.
Architects	ARB	£250,000, on an each-and-every-claim basis	ARB expects cover appropriate to the work — often much higher.
Insurance intermediaries	FCA	€1,300,380 per claim; in aggregate the higher of €1,924,560 and 10% of annual income (capped at £30m)	FCA Handbook, MIPRU 3.2.7R.
Mortgage intermediaries	FCA	€460,000 per claim and €750,000 a year in aggregate	FCA Handbook, MIPRU 3.2.9BR (MCD mortgage advisers and arrangers). Firms that also arrange insurance must meet the insurance intermediary limits.

Professions with no statutory minimum

Consultants, IT and software firms, marketing and PR agencies, HR and recruitment consultants, project managers, designers and many others answer to no regulator that sets a PI floor. That does not make them lower-risk — it moves the requirement into their contracts. Client, framework and public-sector contracts routinely require £1,000,000 to £5,000,000 of cover, and enterprise or government work often £5,000,000 or more. For these businesses the “minimum” is whatever their most demanding contract insists on — which is why a firm can be perfectly compliant one week and unable to sign a new client the next.

Why the regulator’s minimum is a floor, not the right answer

A regulator’s minimum exists to protect the public to a baseline, not to match your exposure. Three things routinely push the sensible limit well above the floor: a single large claim can exceed the minimum on its own; defence costs may sit inside the limit, eroding what is left to pay a claim; and several linked claims can aggregate into one much larger loss. Add run-off — the cover you must keep for years after you stop trading — and the minimum is what it says it is: the floor. The right limit is a judgement about your largest contract, your aggregate exposure across every client, and the cost of defending a claim — not a number copied from a rulebook.

How to size cover above the minimum

Start from the higher of your regulator’s minimum and your most demanding contract, then test that figure against five things:

Your largest realistic claim. Size to the loss a client could suffer if your work went wrong, not to your fee. A small design or advice fee can sit behind a large project or transaction.
How the limit applies. A limit written in the aggregate is shared by every claim in the policy year; one written each and every claim resets for each claim. Contracts usually say which they need: see aggregate or each-and-every-claim.
Defence costs. Check whether defence costs are paid in addition to the limit or inside it. Inside the limit, the cost of defending a claim reduces what is left to pay it.
Past work still open to claims. PI is written on a claims-made basis: the policy in force when a claim is made responds, whenever the work was done. This year’s limit has to carry every past job that could still produce a claim, including under the longer limitation periods in the Building Safety Act 2022 for construction work.
Linked claims. Several claims arising from the same mistake can be treated as one claim under the policy’s aggregation wording, so one limit may have to cover all of them.

When a contract sets the limit

For many firms the working minimum is set by a client, not a regulator. Read the insurance clause for three things: the amount, whether it is each and every claim or in the aggregate, and how long you must keep the cover after the work ends (often six or twelve years for construction appointments and warranties). An aggregate policy can fail an each-and-every-claim requirement even at the right number. In public procurement under the Procurement Act 2023, a contracting authority cannot require the insurance to be in place before it awards the contract (section 22(3)(b)), but the contract itself will usually require it from the start. If a new contract asks for more than you hold, see what to do when a contract requires a higher limit.

Worked examples

These examples are illustrative. They apply the minimums in the table above; they are not recommendations for any particular firm.

An ICAEW practice with £400,000 of fees. Fees are under £800,000, so the minimum is 2.5 × £400,000 = £1,000,000. If a major client’s contract asks for £2m, £2m becomes the working minimum.
A consulting engineer on a framework. The framework asks for £5m each and every claim, maintained for six years after completion. There is no regulator minimum, so the working minimum is £5m each and every claim, kept in force for the six years; a £5m aggregate policy would not comply.
A chartered surveying firm with £150,000 turnover. RICS sets £500,000 for turnover between £100,000 and £200,000. A lender panel or client that asks for more sets the higher figure.
An IT consultancy. No regulator sets a minimum, so the largest limit in its client contracts is the minimum, and the value of the systems and data it works on is the guide to anything above that.

What has changed recently

The floors move. ICAEW raised its minimum from 1 September 2024, lifting the small-firm floor from £100,000 to £250,000 and setting £2,000,000 for larger firms. RICS updated its PII requirements in 2025. Market conditions then sit on top of the rules: the PI market has moved through a hard phase of rising premiums and tighter terms into a softer one, with cyber and building-safety exposures still driving underwriter caution. The mandatory limit is stable; what you pay for it, and what exclusions come attached, is not.

Frequently asked questions

How much professional indemnity cover do I need?

At least your regulator’s minimum and at least the limit your most demanding contract requires, on the basis the contract asks for (each and every claim or aggregate). Above that, size cover to your largest realistic claim, allowing for defence costs and for past work that could still produce a claim, because PI is written on a claims-made basis.

How much professional indemnity insurance do solicitors need?

The SRA minimum is £2,000,000 for any single claim, rising to £3,000,000 for incorporated firms (LLPs and companies), exclusive of defence costs.

Do accountants legally have to have PI insurance?

Yes. ICAEW-regulated firms must hold at least £2,000,000 where gross fee income is £800,000 or more; otherwise 2.5× gross fee income with a minimum of £250,000. These figures apply from 1 September 2024.

What is the minimum PI insurance for a chartered surveyor?

RICS requires £250,000, £500,000 or £1,000,000 depending on the firm’s turnover.

How much PI does an architect need?

ARB expects a minimum of £250,000 each and every claim, but cover should be scaled to the type and value of the work.

Is professional indemnity insurance mandatory for consultants?

There is no statutory minimum for unregulated consultants, but client contracts almost always require it — commonly £1,000,000 to £5,000,000.

What is the minimum PI for an IFA?

Under FCA rules (IPRU-INV 13), from €1,300,380 per claim and €1,924,560 in aggregate for firms doing insurance-distribution business.

Methodology and sources

This reference is compiled by Apex Insurance Brokers, an independent commercial and professional-risks broker authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 724952) and established in 2009. Figures are the mandatory minimums in force as of September 2026, taken from: the SRA Minimum Terms and Conditions; the ICAEW Professional Indemnity Insurance Regulations effective 1 September 2024; the RICS Professional Indemnity Insurance Requirements (2025); the FCA Handbook (IPRU-INV 13 and MIPRU 3); and ARB’s Professional Indemnity Insurance guidance. Minimums change — check the current rules or ask a specialist broker before relying on a figure. Last updated 30 September 2026.

Sources (checked 28 September 2026):

Not sure what limit your contracts — or your regulator — actually require? Get a tailored quote → or call a specialist broker on 0117 325 0027. Apex places professional indemnity for regulated and unregulated firms across 30+ insurer markets.