Company secretarial · PII
PI insurance for UK company secretaries and corporate services providers
Reviewed by Matthew Bartlett, Director, Apex Insurance Brokers Limited · Published 14 July 2026
Company secretarial work — whether performed by ICSA-qualified professionals, corporate-services firms or trust-and-company-service providers — carries distinctive PI considerations. Statutory duty support, Companies House filings, and TCSP regulation all shape the market.
Who this applies to
- Company secretarial consultants serving SMEs and larger corporates.
- ICSA-qualified professionals (Chartered Governance Institute).
- Corporate services firms providing incorporation, registered office and secretarial services.
- Trust and Company Service Providers (TCSPs) regulated under the Money Laundering Regulations.
- Nominee directors and formal-office holders.
Regulatory framework
- Companies Act 2006 and statutory duty requirements.
- Chartered Governance Institute (formerly ICSA) professional standards.
- Money Laundering Regulations 2017 for TCSPs.
- HMRC supervision of TCSP activity.
- Companies House filing responsibilities and personal liability of company officers.
Common claim triggers
- Filing failures. Missed Companies House deadlines; personal fines to directors.
- Statutory duty errors. Advice on directors' duties incorrect.
- Board-meeting minute errors. Decisions inaccurately recorded.
- Corporate action failures. Share allotment, capital reduction, or restructuring errors.
- AML compliance failures. TCSP obligations breached.
- Nominee-director liability. Where the CoSec professional holds formal directorship.
Cover types typically needed
- Professional indemnity for advisory activity.
- D&O for individuals holding formal officer positions.
- TCSP-specific cover for firms regulated under Money Laundering Regulations.
- Fidelity and crime cover for trust-related exposure.
- Cyber cover for corporate-data holdings.
Cover-sizing
- Small company secretarial consultancy — typically £1m-£2m.
- Mid-market corporate services firm — £2m-£10m.
- TCSP with material client base — higher cover reflecting AML and formal-office exposure.
- Firms with nominee-director activity — specific structuring needed.
Frequently asked
Do UK company secretaries need PI insurance?
Yes typically. Professional advisory activity to boards and directors creates standard PI exposure. Corporate-services firms holding formal offices need additional cover.
What is a TCSP and how does it affect PI?
Trust and Company Service Providers are regulated under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 and HMRC-supervised. TCSPs need PII covering AML compliance and specific formal-office exposure.
Does the Chartered Governance Institute set PII requirements?
CGI (formerly ICSA) sets voluntary professional standards. Not a statutory regulator with PII requirements, but membership standards support underwriting.
What about nominee director activity?
Where the CoSec professional holds a formal directorship (nominee director), D&O cover essential alongside PI. Nominee-director exposure includes Companies Act 2006 statutory duty.
Do I need PI cover for Companies House filing?
Standard CoSec PI covers filing-related errors. Missed deadlines and incorrect filings are common claim triggers. Ensure the wording captures filing activity specifically.
How does GDPR affect my company secretarial PI?
Data protection breaches interact with cyber cover more than PI. Where the underlying issue is CoSec advisory error touching data, PI may respond. Combined PI-cyber addresses the overlap.
What about board minute errors?
Standard CoSec PI covers minute-taking and record-keeping errors. Where minutes materially affect decisions and later prove inaccurate, PI responds to civil claims.
Do I need higher cover if I work with regulated companies?
Yes typically. Regulated-company client base attracts higher potential claim quantum. FCA-authorised, listed or PLC clients warrant higher cover sizing.