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PI Insurance Renewal — What to Check Before You Sign

Apex Insurance Brokers · Last reviewed: May 2026

The renewal pack arrives by email three weeks before the policy expires. It contains a quote summary, a renewal schedule, and a covering note from the broker that runs to a paragraph. The headline numbers — premium, limit of indemnity, excess — match what was quoted at the meeting last month. The principal signs, sends back the proposal form, and the policy renews on the day the old one ends. That is how most PI renewals happen, and most years that is fine.

The years in which it is not fine are the years in which the wording has quietly changed, a sub-limit has been added to a key extension, the retroactive date has crept forward, the aggregate cap has been tightened, or a notification clause has been narrowed. None of those changes appear on the headline figures. All of them can be the difference between a claim being paid and a claim being declined.

This article is a renewal-time checklist for principals at UK professional firms who want to sign their PI renewal with their eyes open. It is organised around what to read, what to ask the broker, and what to insist on putting in writing before the renewal date. The structure of UK PI policies and the regulatory expectations on the broker's side mean that almost every item on the list can be resolved in the ninety-day window before renewal — but only if the work starts on day one of that window, not on day eighty-nine.

For the underlying terminology used below see our PI insurance glossary; for the structural choices around policy limits see our aggregate vs each-and-every claim limit explained; for the foundational picture see what is Professional Indemnity Insurance?.

The ninety-day window

UK PI policies typically renew annually. A disciplined renewal cycle starts ninety days before the expiry date. That ninety days allows the firm to gather information, the broker to prepare a renewal submission and approach the market, insurers to underwrite and quote, and the firm to compare quotes and ask questions — without the time pressure that produces poor decisions.

A common pattern that produces poor renewals: the broker is contacted thirty days out, presents one quote ten days out, and the firm signs because there is no time to do anything else. That cycle leaves no time to test the market, no time to read the wording, and no time to push back on changes. Most firms can avoid it by setting the renewal preparation as a recurring calendar item ninety days before each policy anniversary.

What needs to happen in those ninety days:

That sequence assumes a renewal that proceeds without surprises. Claims notifications during the policy year, material changes to the business, or significant market hardening can extend any of the stages.

What to gather before the broker submission

The renewal submission is what determines the quotes you receive. A thin submission produces thin quotes; a well-prepared submission attracts competitive pricing because underwriters can see what they are pricing.

Twelve items should be in the submission pack:

1. Up-to-date fee income figures. The most recent twelve months, ideally with year-on-year comparison. Some insurers require audited figures; others accept management accounts. Get this from the finance function or the firm's accountant early — chasing it at day fifteen is the most common reason renewal submissions are late.

2. Fee split by activity. A breakdown showing the percentage of fee income from each professional activity. For an accountancy practice this means audit / tax compliance / tax advice / accounts prep / corporate finance / insolvency / consultancy. For an architects' practice it means feasibility / design / contract admin / D&B / certification / project management. The split drives underwriting because different activities carry different loss expectations.

3. Geographic and sector split. What proportion of work is for UK clients, EU clients, US-related clients (often a separately rated category), or other? What proportion is for high-risk client sectors (financial services, listed companies, public sector, charities)?

4. Five years of claims and notifications. Every claim, every notified circumstance, every formal complaint that touched on professional services. For each: date, brief description, reserve and final settlement value (or current status), and a note on what the firm did to address the underlying cause. Underwriters expect this; trying to present a sparse history makes them dig harder, not less.

5. Engagement value data. What is the value of your typical engagement? Your largest live engagement? Your largest historic engagement? A surveyor's valuation report on a £200m commercial property is a different risk from a £400,000 residential RICS HomeBuyer Report, and the underwriter needs to know which kind of work you do.

6. Material changes to the business. Acquisitions, mergers, new partners, new service lines, new offices, new client sectors. Anything that materially changes the risk profile.

7. Risk management practices. File review programmes, peer review, complaints handling, CPD compliance, methodology software, engagement-letter discipline. The submission can summarise these briefly — underwriters notice when they are present.

8. The most recent policy schedule. So the broker (and any new underwriter) can see what is currently in force.

9. The most recent wording. Same reason. Often the schedule references the wording by reference; the full wording document is what controls.

10. Confirmation of run-off arrangements (where the firm has previously bought run-off on a discontinued entity, or for prior partners who have retired).

11. Confirmation of any extensions currently held — cyber, dishonesty, defamation, contract works, loss of documents, fidelity. The breadth of extensions is one of the harder things to compare across quotes.

12. A clear statement of what the firm wants from the renewal. Higher limit? Same limit at a better price? Broader wording on a specific extension? Move to each-and-every from aggregate? The broker can only execute against a clear brief.

The ninety-day window exists because gathering twelve items thoroughly takes longer than firms estimate.

The claims-notification clause — the most important paragraph

The single paragraph of the policy wording that most often determines whether a claim is paid is the notification of circumstances clause. The position the firm takes on this is set during the policy year, but renewal is the moment to review it.

Three things to confirm before renewal:

First, has everything notifiable from the expiring year been notified? A "circumstance" is, in the language of most PI wordings, "any fact, matter, act or omission" that may give rise to a claim. The standard is low — a client complaint, an internal recognition that work has gone wrong, a difficult exchange that may escalate, even an industry-wide issue that affects the firm's past work, may all be circumstances. The wording typically requires notification "as soon as practicable" after the firm becomes aware.

Carrying an unnotified circumstance into a renewed year is the most common reason a PI claim fails to be covered. The next-year insurer says the circumstance was known before cover incepted and should have been notified to the previous insurer. The previous insurer says it was not notified before the policy ended. Cover falls in the gap.

The week before renewal is the moment to do a circumstance sweep. Ask each principal directly: "Is there any matter, complaint, fact pattern or concern that has come up during the policy year that could conceivably give rise to a claim and that we have not formally notified?" Document the answers. Notify anything that even might qualify.

Second, what does the renewal policy's notification clause look like compared with the expiring one? Notification clauses can tighten between years. Common tightenings include: a shift from "as soon as practicable" to "within X days" (with strict deadlines); a requirement to notify in writing in a specific form; a clause requiring notification only to a named insurer contact (and treating notification to the broker as insufficient); or a requirement to notify all circumstances rather than only those "likely" or "reasonably expected" to give rise to a claim. Each tightening is a narrowing of cover.

Third, what is the position on circumstance notification rolling over between policies? Most UK wordings include a "deeming clause" — a circumstance notified during a policy year is deemed to be made under that policy, so any claim crystallising later is dealt with by the year of notification rather than the year of the eventual claim. This is what makes the notification of circumstances mechanism work. Confirm the renewal policy carries this deeming clause; if it does not, switching insurer with a notified circumstance becomes substantially more problematic.

The retroactive date

The retroactive date is the earliest date back to which the policy will respond. A retroactive date of 1 January 2010 means the policy will respond to claims about work done from that date forward; it will not respond to work done before then.

For a continuously-insured firm the retroactive date is usually "unlimited" or "full retro" — the policy responds to all past work without a backward date limitation. Confirming this at renewal is straightforward and standard.

For a firm switching insurer the position is more careful. The new insurer's default may be a retroactive date that matches the start of the new policy, leaving a gap for work done during prior insured years. The new insurer can usually be asked to honour the existing retroactive date, and a competent broker will negotiate for full retroactive cover. The renewal pack should state the retroactive date in writing on the schedule; if it is missing, ask for it explicitly.

Three retroactive-date traps to watch:

Inception-date retroactive cover when switching. If the new schedule shows a retroactive date equal to the new policy's start date, the firm has just lost cover for all prior work. This is sometimes presented as the default, sometimes as a cost-saving option; either way it is rarely acceptable for an established firm.

Restricted retroactive cover for specific activities. Some policies provide full retroactive cover for core activities but apply a more restrictive retroactive date to specific extensions (cyber, fire safety, certain financial-services activities). Read the wording to identify any activity-specific retroactive limitations.

Retroactive cover for prior partners. When a partner leaves a firm, the firm's policy continues to cover the prior partner's work — but only if the policy says so. The wording's definition of "insured" should extend to former partners and former employees in respect of work done while at the firm. Confirm at renewal.

Limit and aggregate position

The headline limit is the first number on the schedule. The structure — aggregate, each-and-every, or each-and-every with a stated aggregate — is what determines what the limit actually does. We have written about this distinction at length in aggregate vs each-and-every claim limit explained; the renewal-time discipline is to confirm the structure has not changed.

At renewal, ask the broker to confirm in writing:

Sub-limits in particular have proliferated in recent years. A policy that was £2m all-perils five years ago may have come back with £250,000 fire-safety sub-limits and £500,000 dishonesty sub-limits added in subsequent renewals. The aggregate effect of multiple sub-limits is to narrow cover progressively. Renewal is the moment to identify them.

Excess

Excess is the amount the policyholder pays out of pocket on each claim before the insurer's cover responds. Excess decisions are usually a trade-off between premium reduction (higher excess = lower premium) and out-of-pocket exposure (higher excess = bigger hit when a claim arrives).

Three things to confirm:

The excess level on the renewal schedule. This should be the same as last year unless deliberately changed. An unexplained increase warrants a question.

Whether the excess is "each-and-every claim" or "in the aggregate". An excess of £10,000 each-and-every claim means £10,000 out of pocket per claim; £10,000 in the aggregate means £10,000 across all claims in the year. The former is more common; the difference matters.

Whether the excess applies to defence costs as well as settlements. Most policies apply the excess to both. Some specialist wordings differ.

For regulated activities, the excess is sometimes capped by the regulator. ICAEW caps the maximum permitted aggregate excess at the higher of £3,000 or 3% of gross fee income. The SRA Minimum Terms cap the excess on the mandatory tier at a level set in the rules. Check your professional body's position on excess before agreeing to a higher figure that might breach the rulebook.

Run-off arrangements and prior insurers

Run-off is the cover bought after the firm ceases to practice, designed to respond to claims about work done during the practice years. At renewal of a live policy run-off is not usually being purchased, but two adjacent matters warrant attention.

Continuity of cover with prior insurers. If the firm has changed insurer in any of the prior five or ten years, confirm that the chain of cover is continuous and that the retroactive dates of successive policies match up. Gaps in cover years past are unlikely to surface until a claim arrives notified about work done in the gap year. A renewal-time audit of historic schedules catches this while it is still fixable.

Prior partners' run-off positions. For partners who have left or retired, what is their run-off position? Have they bought separate run-off cover, or do they rely on the firm's continuing policy under a definition of "insured" that extends to former partners? The firm's interests and the former partner's interests can diverge here, and the renewal is the moment to confirm the position.

For firms approaching wind-down or sale, run-off pricing should be obtained at the renewal before the cessation. Run-off bought as a stand-alone premium after cessation is typically more expensive and less negotiable than run-off arranged as an extension of an existing renewal. The economics improve substantially if the firm provides the broker with twelve months' notice of the planned cessation.

Broker fee and remuneration

In the UK, FCA-regulated insurance brokers must disclose their remuneration on commercial PI placements where the client is a commercial customer requesting the disclosure, and must do so as a matter of course in some categories. Commission rates on PI placements vary but typically fall in the range of 7.5% to 25% of premium, depending on the insurer's panel arrangements and the breadth of broker services.

What to confirm at renewal:

How is your broker remunerated? Commission, fee, or a combination. The broker's terms of business should state the position; if it does not, ask in writing.

What is the total cost? Premium plus Insurance Premium Tax (IPT, currently 12% for most lines) plus any broker fee.

Has the remuneration changed from last year? A change should be explained.

Are there any retrospective profit-share or volume-bonus arrangements between the broker and the insurer that could affect the broker's incentive to recommend a particular market? UK regulation requires this be disclosed where it could materially affect the client.

Apex publishes its remuneration arrangements on its Terms of Business page; we work primarily on commission, with broker fees applied transparently where a piece of work falls outside the standard placement service.

Premium movement — why it has gone up (or down)

The renewal premium will be either higher than, lower than, or the same as the expiring premium. Each direction warrants a brief explanation.

Premium increase. Possible reasons include: a hardening market; an insurer increasing its rates; an increase in your fee income or activity mix raising the underwriting exposure; a notified circumstance during the year; sector-wide claim severity increases (architects' market through 2020-23, audit firms' market post-2018); broader cover (higher limit, lower excess, additional extensions). The broker should explain which.

Premium decrease. Possible reasons include: a softening market; insurer competition; a clean claims history rolling off claims from older years; a reduction in fee income; narrower cover (lower limit, higher excess, narrower extensions). Watch the last item — a meaningful premium reduction with no obvious market explanation is sometimes the result of cover that has quietly narrowed. Reading the wording matters.

Premium flat. Most likely. Worth confirming that the policy structure has not changed and that the wording is the same as the expiring year.

A market commentary from the broker should accompany the renewal pack — a paragraph or two on what the market is doing in your sector this year. Without that context, "the premium has gone up 12%" is unanchored. With it, you know whether you are in line with the market or off it.

Material changes during the policy year — disclosure obligations

UK insurance contracts are governed by the Insurance Act 2015, which replaced the old duty of utmost good faith with a "duty of fair presentation" by the insured. At renewal, the firm must make a fair presentation of the risk — disclosing material circumstances either known or that ought reasonably to be known.

Material changes during the policy year that should be disclosed at renewal include:

Failure to make a fair presentation of the risk gives the insurer remedies that range from price adjustments to outright avoidance of the policy. The remedies are scaled to whether the failure was deliberate, reckless or negligent. The practical implication: under-disclosure at renewal can leave a claim later in the year uninsured. Over-disclosure is essentially harmless.

What to ask the broker before signing

A renewal pack typically arrives with a schedule, a wording (or wording reference), and a covering note. Before signing, eight questions are worth putting in writing to the broker:

  1. Is the limit each-and-every claim, aggregate, or each-and-every with a stated aggregate? Confirm the exact wording on the schedule.
  2. Are defence costs in addition to the limit, or within it?
  3. What is the retroactive date? Is it the same as last year? If we are switching insurer, what is the retroactive date being offered?
  4. Has the notification of circumstances clause changed from last year? Specifically, are there any new time limits, form requirements, or restrictions?
  5. What sub-limits apply to extensions on the renewing policy, and are any new since last year?
  6. What is the excess, and is it each-and-every or aggregate? Is it within regulator limits?
  7. What is your remuneration on this placement, and has it changed?
  8. What has changed in the wording from the expiring policy? Provide a clean redline if possible.

The broker should be able to answer those eight questions quickly and in writing. If they cannot, that is itself useful information.

After renewal — the first ninety days of the new year

Renewal does not end on the day the new policy starts. Three things matter in the first ninety days of the new policy year.

Confirm the renewal schedule and wording are received, complete and consistent. Read them. The schedule is the document that gets quoted in any claim correspondence; the wording is the document that controls. Both should be filed and the principals should know where they are.

Confirm continuity with the prior policy. No gaps. Retroactive date matches. Definition of "insured" is consistent. Any notified circumstances from the expiring policy are properly recorded as covered under that policy and not transferring into the new one.

Update the firm's internal compliance and risk records. Many professional bodies require a copy of the certificate of insurance on file. ICAEW members file annually; ARB does so via the annual declaration; SRA-regulated firms file at renewal. The renewal documentation should be filed promptly so the regulator-facing record is up to date.

How Apex helps at renewal

Apex Insurance Brokers is an independent FCA-authorised broker (firm reference 724952), based in Bristol and serving professional firms across the UK. At renewal we follow the structure above — a ninety-day window, a complete submission, a clear presentation of quotes with wording differences set out side by side, and a written record of the decisions the firm takes.

We do not have placement quotas with insurers that would skew our recommendation, and we work on a published commission basis with any broker fees disclosed in advance. Our Terms of Business page sets out the regulatory position.

If your PI renewal is within ninety days, contact us and we can talk through whether the work to prepare a fresh submission would be useful for your firm.

Frequently asked questions

When should I start preparing for my PI renewal?

A disciplined renewal cycle starts ninety days before the expiry date. That window allows internal information-gathering, broker briefing, market submission, quote return, comparison and decision without time pressure. A renewal cycle starting thirty days out leaves no room to test the market or push back on wording changes. For firms with complex placements, hard-market sectors, or material business changes from the prior year, starting at 120 days is sensible.

What is the single most important thing to check on a renewal?

The notification of circumstances position. Confirm that everything notifiable from the expiring policy year has been notified — even circumstances that seem unlikely to crystallise — and that the renewal policy's notification clause has not been narrowed from the expiring one. Late or non-notification is the most common reason a PI claim fails to be covered. The week before renewal is the moment to do a final circumstance sweep with each principal in the firm.

What does the retroactive date on my policy do?

The retroactive date is the earliest date back to which the policy will respond. A retroactive date of 1 January 2015 means the policy responds to claims about work done from that date forward; it does not respond to work done before. For continuously-insured firms the retroactive date is usually "unlimited" or "full retro". When switching insurer it is essential to confirm the new policy carries a retroactive date at least equal to the previous policy's, otherwise older work loses cover.

What is the difference between an aggregate and each-and-every excess?

An each-and-every excess applies separately to each claim — £10,000 out of pocket per claim. An aggregate excess applies to all claims in the year — £10,000 across the year, with subsequent claims having no excess once the aggregate is exhausted. Each-and-every excess is more common in PI; aggregate excess is sometimes seen on specific structures. For regulated activities the excess level may be capped by the professional body — ICAEW caps the maximum aggregate excess at the higher of £3,000 or 3% of gross fee income.

Why has my PI premium gone up?

Possible reasons include: a hardening market, your insurer increasing rates, an increase in fee income or in your activity mix's underwriting risk, a notified circumstance during the year, sector-wide claim severity increases, or broader cover (higher limit, lower excess, additional extensions). A premium movement should be explained by the broker in a market commentary accompanying the renewal pack. Without explanation, an unexplained increase is itself a question to ask before signing.

What is the Insurance Act 2015 "duty of fair presentation"?

The Insurance Act 2015 replaced the old common-law duty of utmost good faith with a duty of fair presentation by the insured. At renewal, the firm must disclose material circumstances either known to it or that ought reasonably to be known — including mergers, departures, sector changes, near-miss claims, and changes in risk management. Failure to make a fair presentation gives the insurer remedies ranging from price adjustments to avoidance of the policy. Disclose materially and transparently; under-disclosure is one of the routes to a declined claim.

Should I switch broker at renewal if I'm not happy?

Yes, if there is a substantive reason — poor responsiveness, unclear remuneration disclosure, a market submission that does not represent the firm's risks fairly, or simply a broker who has stopped engaging with the firm proactively. Switching broker is straightforward and does not affect the underlying insurance — the policy continues with the existing insurer until renewal, and the new broker takes over at the next renewal cycle. There is no regulatory restriction on changing broker. Most firms that change broker do so at renewal rather than mid-year.

What happens if I notify a circumstance just before renewal?

The circumstance is notified to the expiring policy. The "deeming clause" in most UK PI wordings provides that a circumstance notified during a policy year is deemed to be made under that policy, so any claim crystallising later is dealt with by the expiring year's insurer and limit. This is protective — it preserves your cover for that matter at the expiring policy's terms. Some renewing insurers may ask questions about the circumstance, and the renewal premium may reflect it, but the actual handling of the matter stays with the expiring insurer.

Related guides

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.

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Related guides

Author: Apex Insurance Brokers Limited. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, firm reference number 724952. This guide is general information and is not advice tailored to any individual firm's circumstances. For advice on your own renewal please speak to a broker — see our contact page. Last reviewed: May 2026.
Our service promise. We acknowledge every quote request the same working day. For straightforward risks, indicative terms typically follow within five working days. Complex risks — higher-risk buildings, cladding, mid-term proposals requiring fresh underwriting — may take longer; we’ll send you a progress note by the end of the fifth working day in those cases.
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