A one-page emergency reference for the first day of a professional indemnity matter.
Use this card from the moment the firm first becomes aware of any of the following:
A letter of claim, letter before action, complaint with allegations of professional fault, or fee dispute that contains an assertion of negligence.
A client expressing dissatisfaction in terms that suggest they may be considering a claim.
A regulator letter, ombudsman referral, or third-party complaint about advice or work the firm has provided.
A discovered error in advice already given, or in a document already delivered, that could materially have caused or could cause loss to the client or a third party.
If you are not sure whether the matter is a “claim”, treat it as a circumstance and follow the same steps. Better to overshoot than to miss a notification.
Step 1 — Stop.
Do not respond to the client, complainant or third party in substance in the first 24 hours unless absolutely required to (for example, by a court deadline or a regulatory time limit). A short acknowledgement of receipt is acceptable. A substantive response is not.
Step 2 — Preserve.
Open a single matter file for the issue. Save the trigger document (letter, email, call note). Lock the engagement file from further deletion or editing. Suspend any auto-delete settings that might affect related emails. Where the file is electronic, take a dated copy of its current state.
Step 3 — Notify.
Telephone or email the firm’s PI broker the same day. Provide the trigger document and a short factual summary. Ask the broker to put the insurer on notice in accordance with the policy. Follow up in writing within the firm’s internal protocol time limit, and certainly within seven days. (Apex clients: 0117 325 0027 or info@apexinsurancebrokers.co.uk.)
Step 4 — Do not admit.
Do not concede liability, accept the claimant’s version of facts, accept their quantum, or apologise in terms that admit fault. A neutral acknowledgement of receipt is not an admission. An expression of sympathy in personal terms is not an admission. A statement that “we got it wrong” is.
Step 5 — Identify the lead.
Name one person inside the firm as the matter lead. They own the communication, the file and the relationship with the broker. Every other person involved knows to refer enquiries to the lead. Avoid more than one principal making statements to or about the matter.
Step 6 — Communications hold.
Issue a short written instruction inside the firm: this matter is confidential, no internal discussion outside the named group, no email commentary, no Slack or Teams messages about the matter, no mention to clients or referrers. Internal post-mortem is for later, after the broker and (if appointed) the panel solicitor have advised.
Step 7 — Log it.
Open the matter on the firm’s complaints log, risk register and PI claims log within 24 hours, even if you are still uncertain about how to characterise it. Future renewals depend on a clean log.
Do not say: “We’re so sorry, we should have caught that.” Do say: “Thank you for your letter. We are reviewing the matter and will revert as soon as we are able.”
Do not say: “Our insurance will cover it.” Do say: “We will respond in writing once we have looked into the matter.”
Do not say: “You’re right, our [partner / team] missed that.” Do say: “We will look into the events you have described.”
Do not say: “We’ll pay you back.” Do say: “We will revert in due course.”
Do not say: “Off the record, this is a difficult one for us.” Do say: nothing off the record. Off the record is rarely off the record.
Do not say (internally, in writing): “We’re going to lose this one.” Do say (internally, in writing): nothing in writing about merits. Verbal briefing only, into a defined small group, until counsel and the insurer are in.
Do not say (to other clients or referrers): “There’s a difficult matter going on with [client].” Do say: nothing about the matter outside the defined group.
The trigger document, dated and timed.
A short factual chronology, written by one person, in plain English, without commentary on merits.
The engagement letter and the most recent variation, if any.
The advice or document complained of.
The notes of any conversation with the claimant in the previous seven days.
The original client take-on records.
The notification to the broker.
Internal email exchanges where principals speculate about merits, quantum, blame or fault.
Drafts of an apology letter.
Notes of “what we’ll do differently next time” discussions.
Any document marked or treated as legally privileged before counsel has confirmed privilege applies.
These items are for separate handling, on the advice of counsel.
Privilege is a complicated area and the simple summary is: legal advice privilege protects communications between a client and its lawyers for the purpose of giving or receiving legal advice. Litigation privilege protects communications and documents created for the dominant purpose of litigation in reasonable contemplation. Documents created by the firm for its own internal purposes — incident reviews, root-cause analyses, “lessons learned” papers — are not automatically privileged and can be disclosable.
In the first 24 hours, the practical implications are: avoid creating documents about merits, blame or root cause; route written communications about the matter through (or with) lawyers where practicable; do not apply a privilege marking without taking advice. Misapplying privilege does not create privilege and can confuse the firm’s position later.
Some matters are reportable to a professional body in addition to being notifiable to the insurer. The two regimes operate in parallel. The fact that a matter is in the hands of the firm’s insurer does not relieve the firm of its regulatory reporting obligations. Check the body’s current reporting rules and time limits.
Where the client is still a client, the relationship needs handling alongside the claim. The firm should generally not continue to do new work on the matter complained of until the position is clear. The firm should also avoid creating the appearance of obstruction; a short acknowledgement and a realistic expectation about the timeline of response is appropriate.
Where the client has gone to another firm, communications with the new firm should be in writing, factual and routed through the matter lead.
The next steps depend on the matter. Typically: a written notification letter to the broker (use the Apex template), an internal briefing of the named group, instruction of panel solicitors by the insurer where appropriate, and a written response to the claimant on the timing of substantive reply.
The first 24 hours are about preserving the firm’s position. Everything else flows from getting that right.
Apex Insurance Brokers Ltd. Registered office: c/o Westcan, 5 Anglo Office Park, Bristol BS15 1NT. Trading address: QCS, 53 Queen Charlotte Street, Bristol BS1 4HQ. Registered in England and Wales, Companies House number 07014570. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, firm reference number 724952. Verify our registration at register.fca.org.uk.
Speak to Apex about your cover — 0117 325 0027 or info@apexinsurancebrokers.co.uk
Last reviewed: May 2026
Apex Insurance Brokers serves UK professional services firms and commercial businesses. Call 0117 325 0027, email hello@apexinsurancebrokers.co.uk, or request a quotation.
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