Apex News · Professional indemnity · 7 September 2026

Solicitors’ PII renewal 2026: the 1 October date, the 90-day cliff and the checks to make now

Many firms still renew on 1 October, the old common renewal date. A firm that cannot renew gets 90 days of cover from its last insurer — and can take no new work for 60 of them.

By Matthew Bartlett, Director, Apex Insurance Brokers · Published 7 September 2026 · Bristol · All news

In short

With many solicitors’ practices renewing their professional indemnity insurance on 1 October, the next three weeks decide whether a firm renews on good terms, on poor terms, or not at all. Under the SRA’s arrangements a firm that reaches its expiry date without new cover enters an extended policy period with its last insurer: 90 days in total, of which the last 60 are a cessation period in which the firm may only act for existing clients on existing instructions and must tell the SRA within five business days. If no policy is found by the end of it, the firm has to close. The SRA’s minimum terms require £2m of cover for each claim, or £3m for recognised and licensed bodies, plus six years of run-off if the firm ceases.

The 90-day cliff, in one paragraph

The extended policy period is not a grace period in the normal sense. For the first 30 days the firm can carry on and keep looking for cover. From day 31 it is in the cessation period: 60 days in which it “must not take on new clients, nor accept new instructions from existing clients”, in the SRA’s words. If no policy is secured by day 90 the firm must close and run-off cover applies. How the 90 days work, phase by phase.

Five checks before you sign the renewal

Limit against the minimum terms and your largest matters. £2m each claim for most firms, £3m for LLPs and companies, excluding defence costs — and more if a lender panel or a large client demands it. Check the figure.
Circumstances notified before expiry. Anything that might become a claim must be notified to the expiring policy. Left until after renewal it can fall between insurers.
Successor practice. Taking on another firm’s clients, staff or name can make you its successor practice and put six years of its work on your policy. The five questions to settle first.
The insurer is a participating insurer. The SRA publishes the list of insurers signed up to its participating insurers agreement for the year; cover from anyone else does not count.
The presentation. Under the Insurance Act 2015 the firm owes a duty of fair presentation. Conveyancing mix, supervision, file audits and claims history decide the premium; a proposal that answers those questions properly gets better terms than a bare form.

What firms are paying

In Apex’s recent placements a law firm billing around £150,000 typically paid the equivalent of £2,010–£3,170 a year for £1m of cover, which scales to roughly £2,420–£3,800 at the £2m limit most firms must carry (16 placements, indicative). The figure rises steeply with conveyancing exposure and claims. Solicitors: what PII costs.

If your insurer has non-renewed

Do not wait for the expiry date. A firm that goes to the market in the last week of September with a decline on its record is negotiating from the cliff edge; a firm that goes now, with a written presentation and a broker who can approach the whole participating-insurer market, is not. Professional indemnity declined: what to do.

Sources

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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 article is news and general information, not advice on your individual circumstances. Corrections: email info@apexinsurancebrokers.co.uk; corrections are noted and dated on the article.