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Broker comparison · Marsh Commercial · Checked 6 September 2026
Marsh Commercial is the SME arm of Marsh, part of a listed global group, and the ICAEW’s exclusive appointed PI broker; Apex is a Bristol PI specialist owned by its directors. What can be verified about each, and when each is the better fit.
Part of: Professional indemnity insurance at Apex
In short
Marsh Commercial describes itself as the SME insurance specialists within Marsh, one of the founding businesses of Marsh McLennan, a New York-listed group with more than 90,000 colleagues that now brands as Marsh. It says it is trusted by over 130,000 business owners from 40-plus UK offices including Bristol, it grew from Jelf, Bluefin and Clark Thomson, and it is the ICAEW’s exclusive appointed broker for members’ professional indemnity. Apex Insurance Brokers is an independent broker established in Bristol in 2009, owned entirely by its directors and directly FCA-authorised since 2016, with access to over 30 markets including Lloyd’s. The honest steer: an ICAEW member who wants the members’ scheme, or a multi-site business that wants a branch network inside a global group, suits Marsh Commercial; an owner-managed firm that wants the wider market tested by one named broker is what Apex is built for.
Marsh Commercial is a trading name of Marsh Ltd, authorised and regulated by the FCA, registered at 1 Tower Place West, London EC3R 5BU (site footer). Its About us page describes “the SME insurance specialists within Marsh, one of the founding businesses of Marsh McLennan”, says it is “trusted by over 130,000 business owners” served by “local experts from 40+ offices across the UK”, and gives its history: Jelf became part of Marsh in 2015, Bluefin and Clark Thomson followed, and in 2020 “these brands evolved to become Marsh Commercial”. Its local offices page gives the Bristol office as The Paragon, Counterslip, BS1 6BX. The parent announced on 14 October 2025 that it would brand as Marsh from January 2026, with “annual revenue of over $24 billion and more than 90,000 colleagues” (Marsh McLennan, 14 October 2025).
Marsh Commercial’s professional indemnity page says: “We’re the exclusive, appointed insurance broker for ICAEW members’ professional indemnity insurance. We’ve worked with the ICAEW for more than 15 years”, and lists an in-house claims team, free 24-hour legal and counselling helplines, a free tax advice helpline and a list of sixteen professional groups (plus an online product for IT contractors). The ICAEW’s own ICAEW member services page confirms Marsh Commercial as “the exclusive, appointed insurance broker for members’ professional indemnity (PI), office and cyber insurance”.
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 UK professional 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.
Those commitments are dated and signed in the Independence Charter.
| What can be verified | Marsh Commercial | Apex Insurance Brokers |
|---|---|---|
| Ownership | Trading name of Marsh Ltd, part of Marsh McLennan, a New York-listed group now branding as Marsh. | Owned entirely by its directors; not for sale. |
| Established | Brand created 2020 from Jelf (part of Marsh since 2015), Bluefin and Clark Thomson. | 2009, Bristol. |
| Independent or group-owned | Group-owned: a division of a listed global broker. | Independent: no consolidator, private-equity or external shareholder. |
| PI specialism | One line within an SME commercial broker; sixteen professional groups listed; ICAEW members’ PI scheme. | Professional indemnity and commercial insurance for UK professional firms. |
| How it says it accesses the market | “Work with a wide range of insurers to obtain the best possible terms”; the insurer(s) behind the ICAEW members’ scheme are not named on either site. | Over 30 markets including Lloyd’s via wholesale; usually three or four competing quotes. |
| Named contact model | “You speak to experts local to you”; phone and callback form. No single-named-broker promise published. | A named broker: the same person from first quote to renewal and claims. |
| Offices | “40+ offices across the UK” including Bristol (The Paragon, Counterslip). | Bristol (53 Queen Charlotte Street, BS1 4HQ) and Weymouth. |
| Professional-body appointments published | ICAEW exclusive appointed broker for members’ PI, office and cyber insurance. | None; not tied to any professional-body scheme. |
Sources are linked above. “Not published” means we could not find it on the firm’s own site, not that the firm lacks it.
There are firms for which Marsh Commercial is plainly the right fit.
The ICAEW’s ICAEW regulation page says “insurance required by the PII regulations must be obtained from a participating insurer”, and its PII Committee recommends that firms “discuss their placement strategy with their broker to ensure access to a number of different insurers”, adding that firms “may wish to clarify whether their brokers are ‘whole of market’ brokers”. The regulations require a participating insurer, not a particular broker.
Nothing in a professional indemnity policy stops you asking a second broker for a view, and asking does not commit you to moving.
Nobody can honestly say before the market has seen your firm. The premium is set by the insurer that quotes, on your fee income, your work, your claims record, the limit and the excess; brokers differ in which insurers they approach and how they present the risk. The only reliable test is a second quote on the same basis. If ours is not better, we say stay put, in writing.
You can ask both to quote, and at renewal many firms do. Many PI underwriters will only consider a risk through one broker at a time, so tell each broker which markets the other has approached. Once cover is placed, one broker holds the policy. Keep the Marsh Commercial renewal on track until you have decided.
Not from us. We do not contact your existing broker, and a comparison quote is confidential to you. If an insurer that already holds your risk through Marsh Commercial declines to quote us because it is already engaged, we tell you that is why and go to the markets that have not yet seen your firm.
Professional indemnity is claims-made: the policy in force on the day a claim is made responds, provided its retroactive date covers the work in question. Any circumstance you already know about is notified to the outgoing insurer before you move; claims made afterwards, including about past work, fall to the new policy, and at Apex every notification gets director-level attention.
The UK professional indemnity market is served by a limited number of specialist insurers and Lloyd’s syndicates, and a broker’s reach depends on its own agencies and wholesale relationships. Apex has access to over 30 markets, including Lloyd’s via wholesale, and tells you which insurers it approached and which declined, so you can see the overlap yourself.
In ownership terms, no: it is a trading name of Marsh Ltd, part of Marsh McLennan, a group listed on the New York Stock Exchange that now brands as Marsh. That is not a criticism; a listed parent brings resources a small firm cannot match. It is a different model from a broker owned by its own directors, and if independent ownership is one of the things you are buying, it is worth knowing which you are getting.
No. The ICAEW’s PII regulations require cover from a participating insurer, and the Institute says firms may wish to clarify whether their broker is “whole of market”. Marsh Commercial is the ICAEW’s exclusive appointed broker for the members’ scheme, one route to compliant cover; any broker with the right agencies can place with participating insurers. The minimum is £2m, or 2.5 times gross fee income with a £250,000 floor for firms with fees under £800,000.
Sometimes, for large or layered programmes, where scale brings access to capacity and facilities a small broker cannot offer. Not automatically for a small or medium-sized firm: the premium is rated on your firm, and what moves it is the insurer’s appetite for your profession and the quality of the presentation. Ask which insurers each broker actually approached for you.
Send your current schedule and renewal terms. A named Apex broker puts your firm to the wider market and comes back with competing quotes on the same basis, or a stay-put letter if you are already well placed. Or call 0117 325 0027.
Get a comparison quote Ask for a stay-put letterApex 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. Statements about other brokers come from their own websites, Companies House, the FCA register, professional bodies or dated announcements, checked on 6 September 2026, and are linked where quoted. Any firm named here may ask us to correct its entry; we will make and date the change.
