PI Claim Case Studies — Batch 1

Anonymised composite case studies based on publicly reported PI claim patterns. Not actual Apex client data. Names, locations and identifying details have been changed. Apex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FRN 724952.

About this collection

Thirty case studies covering the seven professional sectors that produce the highest volume — and largest quantum — of professional indemnity (PI) claims in the UK market. Each is a composite of publicly reported claims, FOS decisions, SRA/RICS/CIArb disciplinary outcomes and reported case law. The objective is to give buyers a clear, technically accurate sense of how PI claims actually unfold, how the policy responds, and what the renewal and disclosure implications look like the year after.

Every study follows the same structure: the firm, what happened, the claim, how the policy responded, the outcome, lessons for buyers, and where a specialist broker adds value.

Index by sector

Solicitors (7)

1. Conveyancing — Vendor identity fraud and a six-figure shortfall
2. Litigation — Missed limitation on a personal injury claim
3. Private client — Will drafting error and a disinherited beneficiary
4. Commercial property — Breach of solicitor’s undertaking
5. AML — Source of funds failure on a high-value purchase
6. Data breach — Misdirected disclosure and privilege loss
7. Conflicts — Acting for borrower and lender on a development loan

Independent Financial Advisers (5)

1. Defined benefit transfer — Unsuitable advice to leave a DB scheme
2. SIPP — Unregulated investments and non-standard assets
3. Pension freedoms — Drawdown without sustainability modelling
4. BSPS — British Steel Pension Scheme transfer redress
5. Structured products — Mis-sold capital-at-risk plans

Chartered Surveyors (4)

1. Valuation — Over-valuation of a buy-to-let portfolio
2. Survey — Missed structural movement on a homebuyer report
3. Boundary — Plan error on a development site sale
4. Red Book — Commercial valuation methodology breach

Architects (4)

1. Specification — Wrong cladding specification on a mid-rise block
2. Building Safety Act — Fire stopping omission discovered post-Grenfell
3. Project oversight — Site instructions and unauthorised variations
4. Listed building — Consent error and enforcement notice

Consulting Engineers (4)

1. Structural — Calculation error on a transfer structure
2. M&E — Plant room specification undersize
3. EIA — Habitats Regulations omission on a coastal site
4. Peer review — Independent check failure on a temporary works design

IT Professionals (3)

1. Data breach — Cloud misconfiguration and a six-figure ICO outcome
2. Project — ERP implementation overrun and contract termination
3. IP — Third-party code infringement in a delivered SaaS product

Design & Construct (3)

1. Sub-contract coordination — Steelwork interface failure
2. Performance specification — Energy performance shortfall
3. Novated consultant — Design liability gap on a hospital project

How to use these

For buyers and risk managers, each study can be read in isolation. We recommend pairing the study most relevant to your firm with the Lessons for buyers section as an internal training prompt — most of the claims in our experience are avoidable with a single additional checking step.

For brokers and underwriters, the How the policy responded sections set out the wording, notification and aggregation points that drive outcomes once a claim is in flight. Several studies deliberately illustrate the difference between a well-handled notification under s.5 of the Insurance Act 2015 and a defective one.

A note on accuracy

Every study reflects claim patterns we, and the wider market, have seen repeatedly. Quantum figures are illustrative and consistent with public data from Lloyd’s market commentary, the Solicitors Indemnity Fund successor schemes, FOS published decisions and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Where case law is named, the principle is genuinely applied. Where Insurance Act 2015 sections are referenced, they are the sections that practitioners and coverage counsel actually engage with in the scenario.

Nothing in this collection constitutes legal or insurance advice. Specific situations require specific advice.

Apex Insurance Brokers Limited Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FRN 724952 apexinsurancebrokers.co.uk