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Mid-market insurance
An insurance programme review is a structured check of every policy a business buys, tested against its contracts, its assets and how it now operates. For a business of roughly £10m to £50m turnover, the programme often lags the business by several years.
Part of: Commercial insurance
In short
Apex reviews the whole insurance programme of mid-sized businesses, independent schools and school groups, and professional firms with substantial PI: limits tested against your contracts and worst credible loss, how the programme is structured, wording gaps, and how the risk is presented to insurers. Send your schedules and last renewal submission; we tell you plainly what to keep and what to change. There is no fee for the review, no obligation, and no disruption to your current arrangements unless you choose to move.
The review looks at the programme as one structure rather than policy by policy, because most gaps sit between policies. Depending on the business it covers:
For each one we test the limit, the basis of cover (any one claim or aggregate, shared or separate limits), the excess and the wording, then look at the structure as a whole: package against standalone policies, primary and excess layers, and whether the renewal timetable gives the market enough time.
For businesses with compulsory cover, the review also checks the basics: employers’ liability must meet the £5m minimum under the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Regulations 1998, and charities, including many independent schools, should follow Charity Commission guidance CC49 on reviewing their insurance.
The quickest start is the documents you already have. Send what you can; we will ask for anything missing.
| Document | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Current policy schedules and wordings | Shows limits, excesses, extensions and exclusions as they actually stand |
| Last renewal submission or proposal forms | Shows how the risk was presented to insurers |
| Five-year claims and incidents history | Insurers price on it, and it must be disclosed fairly |
| Insurance clauses from your main contracts | Contract limits and caps often drive the PI, cyber and liability limits |
| Revenue split by activity and territory | US revenue, regulated work or new services change the risk |
| Renewal dates for each policy | Sets the timetable for any market approach |
A written summary in plain English: what is right and should stay, what is missing or mismatched, and what we would change, with the reason for each point. Where the programme is sound we say so, which is useful evidence for a board or governors in its own right. Where changes would help, we set out the options and the timetable, including whether a full market approach is worth it this year.
Nothing is placed and no insurer is approached without your agreement. Under section 3 of the Insurance Act 2015 a business has a duty to make a fair presentation of the risk; part of the review is checking that the presentation you send to insurers is complete and clear, because a well-presented risk is easier for underwriters to rate.
A quote answers one question: what will this insurer charge for the cover you have asked for. A review asks the question before that one: is the cover you are asking for still the right cover. For a mid-sized business the expensive mistakes are rarely the premium; they are a limit that does not match a contract, a business interruption period that runs out before the business recovers, or a wording that excludes the way the business now works.
So the review starts from your contracts, assets and operations, not from last year’s schedule. Only once the programme is right does it make sense to compare prices, and comparing prices on the wrong programme can make a poor arrangement look cheap. That is also why the review is useful even when you stay where you are: it gives your board, governors or investors a documented view that the insurance fits the business.
Ideally 90 to 120 days before the main renewal date. That leaves time to gather information, review the programme and, if needed, approach insurers before your current terms are due. Later than that is still workable, but the options narrow as the renewal date approaches, particularly for excess layers and specialist covers.
Insurers usually deal with one broker for a given risk at a time, so if a review leads to a market approach we agree the approach with you first, and you stay in control of the timing. If you are mid-year, a review is still useful: some limit, structure and contract gaps can be addressed by mid-term adjustment, subject to insurer agreement, rather than waiting for renewal.
These are illustrative of what the review tests, not findings about any particular client:
Related guides: insurance for mid-sized IT companies, running an independent school insurance tender, D&O for mid-sized companies, specialist broker or large insurer for mid-market businesses and how a corporate insurance programme is structured.
No. There is no fee for the review and no obligation to move your insurance. If you later ask us to place cover, brokers are usually paid by commission from insurers, and we will tell you what we earn on your policies if you ask.
No. The review is based on the documents you already hold and does not involve your current broker or insurers. If you decide to make changes, we agree the timing and approach with you before any insurer is contacted.
It depends on the size of the programme and how quickly the documents arrive. A complete set of schedules, wordings and the last renewal submission lets us start straight away, and we will agree a timetable with you that fits your renewal date.
Not necessarily, but the options are narrower. We can still check the limits, wordings and presentation and tell you what to fix now and what to plan for next year. Excess layers and specialist covers are usually the hardest to arrange at short notice.
Mid-sized businesses with roughly £10m to £50m turnover, including IT, software and managed services companies, independent schools and school groups, and professional firms with substantial PI programmes. Smaller businesses are welcome to ask for a quote in the usual way.
Email your current schedules, policy wordings and the last proposal or renewal submission, with your renewal date. We will confirm receipt and arrange a call. Or call 0117 325 0027.
Email your renewal pack Call 0117 325 0027Apex 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.
