Category: Sector × city · Reviewed by Mark Fox, Broker · Renewals · Last reviewed May 2026
Apex Insurance Brokers is a Bristol-headquartered, UK-wide Professional Indemnity (PI) broker that acts for architectural practices across London — Clerkenwell and Farringdon studios, Southwark and Bermondsey design firms, established practices in Marylebone and the West End, and the smaller residential and conservation-focused practices spread across the boroughs. We are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (firm reference 724952).
We do not maintain a walk-in office in London. The architectural practices we serve in London do not, on the whole, need one. Renewal reviews, project-by-project queries and circumstance discussions happen by video call, telephone and secure email. The studios we act for tend to want a named broker who understands the difference between a domestic refurbishment in Wandsworth and a tower in the City, not a broker on the doorstep.
Architects PI is unusual in that there is no fixed regulator-set monetary floor. The Architects Registration Board Code requires registered architects to hold “adequate and appropriate” professional indemnity cover, and the RIBA Chartered Practice scheme requires the same. What “adequate” looks like in London — given project scale, client mix and the legacy issues that still hang over post-Grenfell residential work — is the conversation that actually matters.
London is the largest architectural market in the United Kingdom and one of the most internationally connected in the world. The studios working here cover the full spectrum, and the PI conversation looks different at each tier.
At the top end, the internationally branded studios with offices in Clerkenwell, Shoreditch and the South Bank work on stadia, transport infrastructure, masterplanning and tall buildings, often as part of joint ventures with global delivery partners. Their PI programmes run into tens of millions of pounds and are typically placed by specialist brokers with dedicated construction teams.
The mid-tier — practices of fifteen to a hundred people working on large mixed-use schemes, residential towers, office refurbishments, hotels and the institutional estate — is well represented across King’s Cross, Farringdon, Shoreditch, Southwark and parts of west London. These firms regularly take on design-and-build appointments with novation to the contractor, and they are frequently asked for £5 million to £25 million in PI cover by employer’s agents and main contractors. Project-specific and excess-layer cover comes up on most large schemes.
Below that, a long tail of smaller and boutique practices works on conservation and listed-building projects in Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea, basement extensions in K&C and Camden, high-end residential across the prime central London boroughs, and the steady volume of permitted development and refurbishment work that runs across every London borough. Several practices specialise in interiors, fit-out and exhibition design, where the PI exposure is real but the typical claim profile differs from full-service architecture.
Three London-specific factors recur. First, the post-Grenfell legacy: any practice that designed or specified cladding, insulation or fire-stopping on residential buildings over 11 metres between roughly 2000 and 2018 is a question on every PI proposal form, and the Building Safety Act 2022 has extended limitation. Second, design-and-build novation: London’s procurement model puts a disproportionate share of work onto novated appointments, and the policy needs to respond properly when the architect is delivering for the contractor. Third, conservation and listed buildings: the heritage exposure in Westminster, K&C and the City of London is a discrete area, and listed-building consent failures generate distinct claim patterns.
Neither the ARB nor RIBA prescribes a fixed minimum limit. The ARB Code requires “adequate and appropriate” cover, and the RIBA Chartered Practice criteria refer to the same standard. In practice, the limit is driven by what clients contractually require.
A typical small London residential practice might carry £1 million to £2 million in PI cover. Mid-sized practices working on mixed-use and commercial schemes commonly carry £5 million to £10 million. Practices appointed on large schemes for institutional developers, housebuilders or local authorities are often asked for £10 million to £25 million, and project-specific PI is sometimes required on top of the practice’s annual policy. Aggregate limits versus any-one-claim limits, defence-cost arrangements, and run-off provisions are all routinely negotiated.
The Building Safety Act 2022 has reshaped the conversation. Limitation on residential work in scope of the Defective Premises Act has been extended retrospectively to 30 years for completed work and prospectively to 15 years. PI insurers responded by introducing tighter underwriting around fire safety, cladding and external wall systems, and some wordings now carry cladding-specific exclusions or sub-limits. Reading the wording carefully matters.
For more on architects PI generally, see our architects sector page and our overview of professional indemnity insurance.
Cladding and external wall system claims remain a defining theme. The Building Safety Act, the FRAEW process, EWS1 questions on residential blocks and the ongoing remediation programme have produced both claims and pre-claim circumstance notifications on a scale unfamiliar to most other PI lines. Practices with any residential high-rise back-book need careful broking.
Design-and-build novation claims arise where the architect’s appointment is novated to a contractor mid-project, and disputes follow over what the architect was responsible for under the original employer’s appointment versus the novated one. Net-contribution clauses, the scope of the design responsibility matrix, and the interaction with consultant collateral warranties all matter to how the claim is handled.
Conservation and listed-building claims sit largely in Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea. Failures to identify protected fabric, errors in listed-building consent applications, and damage to historic structures during alteration produce claims that turn on heritage law as much as building design.
Basement and below-ground work in K&C, Camden and Westminster carries an outsized risk profile — neighbour-property damage, party wall disputes, dewatering, and movement claims on adjoining buildings of substantial value. Several insurers ask separate questions about basement exposure.
Cost overrun and programme claims, while not strictly design failures, frequently arrive at the architect’s door when clients look for someone to recover from. The policy wording around cost-related claims and exclusions is worth checking.
Apex is independent and not tied to a single insurer or panel. For each London architectural practice we approach the relevant section of the architects PI market — including specialist managing general agents writing construction professional indemnity, Lloyd’s syndicates via established wholesale routes, and the company-market insurers active in the sector. We bring back terms with a written commentary, not just a premium number.
You deal with a named broker. Video calls handle renewal reviews and mid-term queries. Telephone access is direct on 0117 325 0027. Secure document exchange handles proposals, schedules and policy documents.
Claims advocacy on architectural notifications is technical work. We help draft the circumstance notification, work with insurers and panel solicitors through the life of the claim, and stay involved as the matter progresses — particularly important on long-tail cladding and Building Safety Act-related notifications.
More on how we work with London-based firms is on our London page.
No. Apex is headquartered in Bristol and serves London architectural practices remotely, by video meeting, telephone and secure document exchange. We travel to client studios in London where there is a particular reason to do so.
There is no fixed regulator-set floor. The ARB Code requires “adequate and appropriate” cover. Limit selection is driven by client contractual requirements, project scale and the practice’s back-book exposure. Small residential practices may carry £1 million to £2 million; mid-sized practices £5 million to £10 million; firms on large schemes often £10 million to £25 million.
The Act extended retrospective limitation to 30 years on certain residential work under the Defective Premises Act, and prospective limitation to 15 years. Insurer underwriting has tightened around fire safety, cladding and external wall systems. Some wordings now carry cladding-specific exclusions or sub-limits, which is something we review on every renewal.
Yes. Where a single appointment requires limits or wording beyond the annual policy, project-specific PI placed alongside the annual cover is a common approach, and we have routes into the relevant section of the market.
The policy wording, the design responsibility matrix and the net-contribution position are reviewed. We look at how the wording responds when the architect’s appointment is novated to a contractor and what the firm’s exposure looks like under the post-novation arrangement.
Practices with significant conservation and listed-building exposure are common in central London. The PI submission needs to describe that work properly so insurers price it correctly, and we draft submissions on that basis.
Yes. Apex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, firm reference 724952.
If you run an architectural practice in London and would like to discuss Professional Indemnity cover — whether reviewing an existing policy, approaching renewal, responding to a project appointment requirement, dealing with a cladding or Building Safety Act enquiry, or notifying a circumstance — please get in touch.
Telephone: 0117 325 0027 Email: info@apexinsurancebrokers.co.uk
About Apex Insurance Brokers — Apex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FCA firm reference 724952. Registered in England and Wales, Companies House 07014570. Last reviewed: May 2026.
Apex Insurance Brokers serves UK professional services firms and commercial businesses. Call 0117 325 0027, email hello@apexinsurancebrokers.co.uk, or request a quotation.
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