Outgrowing your online PI policy: the signs, and what to do
How firms end up here
Online PI is genuinely good at what it was designed for: a sole practitioner or micro-firm with standard activities gets compliant cover in twenty minutes at a sensible price. The problem isn’t the product — it’s that firms grow and the policy doesn’t. Renewal becomes a card payment rather than a conversation, and each year the gap between what the firm actually does and what the policy thinks it does gets a little wider.
The signs you’ve outgrown it
Contracts start negotiating your insurance for you. A client’s terms require a higher limit, cover on an each-and-every-claim basis, or written confirmation of specific policy terms — and the online product has no one to negotiate with and no flexibility to respond.
Your activities have drifted from the tickbox description. The firm that bought the policy did “architectural design”; the firm renewing it also does contract administration, principal designer appointments and the odd expert report. If the policy’s description of your business no longer matches reality, that mismatch is precisely where coverage arguments start — and it is the single most important thing to fix.
Collateral warranties, appointments and bespoke liability terms appear. Once third parties start relying on your work under documents an online form never contemplated, the wording needs reading against them — by someone whose job that is.
The numbers have moved. Fee income has doubled, project values have moved up a tier, you’ve hired professionals with their own specialisms — and the limit is still the one that looked generous three years ago.
Something has happened. A complaint, a niggle, a client hinting at dissatisfaction. On an online policy you have a claims phone number. With a broker you have someone who notifies it properly, argues your corner and has seen a hundred of these before.
What moving to a brokered policy actually involves
Less than most firms expect. You tell us properly what the firm does now — that conversation alone usually surfaces the gaps — and we present your risk across the whole market rather than one insurer’s online appetite. You get a wording chosen against your contracts rather than a default, continuity handled correctly so there is no gap between policies (including the retroactive cover that protects your past work), and a named person to call. Premium is set by the market on a full picture of the firm — sometimes higher than the online renewal, sometimes lower, always for cover that actually matches the business.
When to do it
The best moment is four to six weeks before renewal, but a contract demanding terms your policy can’t meet is a reason to talk mid-term — and switching mid-year is more routine than most firms think.
FAQ
Will a brokered policy cost more than my online one?
Not necessarily — the market prices a properly presented risk on its merits, and a fuller picture sometimes reads better than a tickbox form. What changes reliably is that the cover fits. Where a higher premium does arise, it is usually because the online policy was quietly under-covering the firm you’ve become.
Can I switch before my renewal date?
Yes. Mid-term moves are routine, and because PI is claims-made, what matters most is unbroken cover and correct retroactive dates — which is exactly what a broker manages in the transition.
What if my past work was done under the old policy?
Claims-made cover means today’s policy responds to claims made today, including about past work — provided continuity is handled properly when you move. That continuity is the single most important technical detail of switching, and it is our job, not yours.
Apex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 724952). This page is general information, not advice on a specific policy.