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Broker comparison · PII Brokers · Checked 6 September 2026
Two of the few UK professional indemnity specialists still owned by individuals: PII Brokers in the City of London, established 2005, and Apex in Bristol, established 2009. What can be verified about each, and when each is the better fit.
Part of: Professional indemnity insurance at Apex
In short
PII Brokers is the trading name of Pii Brokers.co.uk Ltd, incorporated on 26 February 2005 and based in Bury Street in the City of London. Companies House records one individual, Mr James William Goodier, as its person with significant control; the firm calls itself a privately owned independent broker with over 1,000 clients, London-market access and an online quote-and-buy facility, and publishes pages for sixteen professions plus medical malpractice, D&O and cyber. Apex Insurance Brokers is an independent broker established in Bristol in 2009, owned entirely by its directors and directly FCA-authorised since 2016, with access to over 30 markets including Lloyd’s. The honest steer: both are independent PI specialists, so the choice is about fit — a London broker with an online buying route, or a Bristol broker built around one named person, competing quotes and a straight answer on non-standard risks.
Pii Brokers.co.uk Ltd, company 05377189, was incorporated on 26 February 2005 as Lombard Brokers Limited and took its current name in January 2007; it is active, registered at 5-10 Bury Street, London EC3A 5AT (Companies House). The PSC register shows one person with significant control, Mr James William Goodier, an individual, notified on 6 April 2016. On that basis we list PII Brokers, with MFL Insurance Group, as one of the two UK PI specialists founded before Apex that we know of which are still independently owned.
Its About us page says the firm “was established in 2005 to provide a professional indemnity brokerage service for clients seeking to access the London market”, that “as a privately owned independent broker, we are not tied to any one insurer”, that it was “one of the first brokers to adopt an online quote & buy facility”, and that it acts “for over 1000 clients”. It claims “exclusive access to ‘A’ rated insurers”, offers a claims handling service, names three people, and gives its office as the 5th Floor, Copenhagen House, 5-10 Bury Street. Its home page lists sixteen professions plus medical malpractice, D&O and cyber, with a “Get a quote” route to an online quote-and-buy portal and an invitation to “call us for an instant indication of cost”.
Apex Insurance Brokers is an independent insurance broker established in 2009 and based in Bristol, owned entirely by its directors and directly authorised by the FCA since 2016, placing professional indemnity insurance for UK professional firms across the UK. It is one of the longest-established independently owned professional indemnity specialists in the UK, and it is not for sale: we have declined approaches to buy the firm. We are not tied to any single insurer or professional-body scheme, we do not run our own policy or underwriting, and we have no placement quotas. We have access to over 30 markets, including Lloyd’s syndicates via wholesale, and we usually return three or four competing quotes set out so you can compare them like for like. Every client has a named broker — the same person from first quote to renewal — and every claim notification gets director-level attention rather than a call-centre queue.
Those commitments are dated and signed in the Independence Charter.
| What can be verified | PII Brokers | Apex Insurance Brokers |
|---|---|---|
| Ownership | One individual person with significant control (Companies House); “privately owned independent broker”. | Owned entirely by its directors; not for sale. |
| Established | Incorporated 26 February 2005, London. | 2009, Bristol. |
| Independent or group-owned | Independent: one individual recorded as its person with significant control. | Independent: no consolidator, private-equity or external shareholder. |
| PI specialism | Professional indemnity across sixteen listed professions, plus medical malpractice, D&O and cyber. | Professional indemnity and commercial insurance for UK professional firms. |
| How it says it accesses the market | “Access the London market”; “exclusive access to ‘A’ rated insurers”; “not tied to any one insurer”. | Over 30 markets including Lloyd’s via wholesale; usually three or four competing quotes. |
| Named contact model | Three people named. No single-named-broker promise published. | A named broker: the same person from first quote to renewal and claims. |
| Offices | London EC3 (Copenhagen House, 5-10 Bury Street). | Bristol (53 Queen Charlotte Street, BS1 4HQ) and Weymouth. |
| Professional-body appointments published | None found. Affiliate member of the Association of Professional Compliance Consultants. | None; not tied to any professional-body scheme. |
| Buying route | Online quote-and-buy portal, telephone indication of cost, or enquiry form. | Short fact-find with a named broker; quotes set out to compare. |
Sources are linked above. “Not published” means we could not find it on the firm’s own site, not that the firm lacks it.
This is a comparison between two independent specialists, not between an independent and a consolidator, so either may suit you. PII Brokers is the more natural choice when:
Nothing in a professional indemnity policy stops you asking a second broker for a view, and asking does not commit you to moving.
Nobody can honestly say before the market has seen your firm. The premium is set by the insurer that quotes, on your fee income, your work, your claims record, the limit and the excess; brokers differ in which insurers they approach and how they present the risk. The only reliable test is a second quote on the same basis. If ours is not better, we say stay put, in writing.
You can ask both to quote, and at renewal many firms do. Many PI underwriters will only consider a risk through one broker at a time, so tell each broker which markets the other has approached. Once cover is placed, one broker holds the policy. Keep the PII Brokers renewal on track until you have decided.
Not from us. We do not contact your existing broker, and a comparison quote is confidential to you. If an insurer that already holds your risk through PII Brokers declines to quote us because it is already engaged, we tell you that is why and go to the markets that have not yet seen your firm.
Professional indemnity is claims-made: the policy in force on the day a claim is made responds, provided its retroactive date covers the work in question. Any circumstance you already know about is notified to the outgoing insurer before you move; claims made afterwards, including about past work, fall to the new policy, and at Apex every notification gets director-level attention.
The UK professional indemnity market is served by a limited number of specialist insurers and Lloyd’s syndicates, and a broker’s reach depends on its own agencies and wholesale relationships. Apex has access to over 30 markets, including Lloyd’s via wholesale, and tells you which insurers it approached and which declined, so you can see the overlap yourself.
Yes. Companies House records one individual as its person with significant control, and the firm describes itself as a privately owned independent broker not tied to any one insurer. It is one of the two UK PI specialists founded before 2009 that we found still independently owned, with MFL Insurance Group in Manchester; that is why Apex calls itself one of the longest-established independently owned PI specialists in the UK, not the longest.
PII Brokers: Pii Brokers.co.uk Ltd was incorporated on 26 February 2005, as Lombard Brokers Limited, and its site says it was established in 2005. Apex Insurance Brokers Limited was incorporated on 10 September 2009. PII Brokers publishes a client count of over 1,000; Apex does not publish one. Neither has been acquired, which among the older UK PI specialists we track is the less common history.
Sometimes, for large or layered programmes, where scale brings access to capacity and facilities a small broker cannot offer. Not automatically for a small or medium-sized firm: the premium is rated on your firm, and what moves it is the insurer’s appetite for your profession and the quality of the presentation. Ask which insurers each broker actually approached for you.
Send your current schedule and renewal terms. A named Apex broker comes back with competing quotes on the same basis, or a stay-put letter if you are already well placed. Or call 0117 325 0027.
Get a comparison quote Ask for a stay-put letterApex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales, company number 07014570. This page is general information, not advice on your individual circumstances, and it does not guarantee that cover will be available or on what terms. Statements about other brokers come from their own websites, Companies House, the FCA register, professional bodies or dated announcements, checked on 6 September 2026, and are linked where quoted. Any firm named here may ask us to correct its entry; we will make and date the change.
