Hard-to-place professional indemnity · After a claim · UK

Professional indemnity insurance after a claim or notification

A claim on a claims-made policy changes your next renewal, whether the claim is paid, defended or still open. Handled well, it becomes a paragraph in your history. Handled badly, it becomes a decline.

Part of: Non-standard professional indemnity

In short

Professional indemnity is written on a claims-made basis: the policy in force when a claim is first made against you — or when you notify a circumstance that might become one — is the policy that responds, whichever year the work was done. So a claim or notification does three things at once: it stays with the insurer that was on risk when you notified it, it becomes a material fact on every future proposal form, and it makes the retroactive date and continuity of your next policy critical, because a lapse can leave past work permanently uninsured. Insurers renewing or taking on a firm with a claim want to know what happened, what it cost, what changed, and whether it could happen again. 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 firms with a claim or notified circumstance 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.

How claims-made cover behaves after a claim

The claim stays put. A claim or circumstance notified under this year’s policy is handled by this year’s insurer, even if you move at renewal. Switching broker or insurer does not move the claim.
Notify circumstances early. A complaint, an error you have spotted, a client hinting at loss: notifying it now locks it into the current policy. Wait, and a new policy will exclude it as a known circumstance.
Continuity is everything. The next policy must start the moment this one ends, with a retroactive date that reaches back to the start of your practice. A gap of a day can leave every past project uninsured.
Reserves matter at renewal. The renewing insurer sees the amount it has reserved against an open claim. A claim that is defended and closed cheaply is a very different renewal from one with a large open reserve.

What insurers want to see from a firm with a claim

A root-cause account. Not ‘a client complained’ but what went wrong, why, and who was responsible.
What changed. Supervision, file review, engagement letters, a second-signature rule, a capped activity, a person who left. Underwriters price the change, not the apology.
The numbers. Amount claimed, amount reserved or paid, defence costs, whether liability was admitted.
The pattern, or the lack of one. One claim in fifteen years is a fact. Three in five years is a trend, and the presentation has to address it head-on.

If you are unhappy with how the claim itself is being handled, that is a separate conversation — and one your broker should be having with the insurer on your behalf.

How Apex places professional indemnity after a claim

We get the claims summary from the insurer and put it in front of you first, so the presentation matches what the market will see.
Renew or move? Sometimes staying with the incumbent insurer through an open claim is the right answer; sometimes it is not. We show you both routes with the terms side by side.
A written presentation, not a form. The issue is stated plainly, with context and evidence, on page one — insurers respect that and price it better than a ‘yes’ in a box with no explanation.
The right markets, in the right order. Among the 30-plus markets we use, including Lloyd’s, some underwrite non-standard risks as a matter of course and some never will. Approaching everyone at once damages your prospects; we go to the ones that fit.
Terms explained before you bind. Premium, excess, exclusions, retroactive date and payment terms, side by side, with our plain-language view of the trade-offs.
The same named broker afterwards — for the mid-term question, the certificate a client wants, and next year’s renewal, when a clean twelve months will help.

What to have ready

Your current schedule and policy wording, and the expiry date.
The last proposal form or presentation, and any correspondence in which an insurer declined, loaded or non-renewed you.
A short written account of the issue — what happened, when, why, and what has changed since.
Evidence where it exists: a certificate of satisfaction for a CCJ, a discharge certificate, a regulator’s final decision, a claims summary from the insurer.
Fee income for the last three years and a description of the work you do now.
The insurer’s claims summary or bordereau for the last six years, including circumstances that never became claims.

What we can and cannot promise

A straight answer within five working days. That is the Non-Standard PI Desk standard: yes, no, or the terms — with the reasons and what would change the answer. How the Desk works.
We cannot guarantee terms. Some risks are uninsurable in the standard market at a given moment, and we would rather tell you that in week one than in the last week before expiry.
Terms may be restricted. A higher premium, a larger excess, an exclusion, or premium payable in full rather than monthly are all common outcomes for non-standard risks. We explain each one before you bind.
Never let existing cover lapse while we work. A gap in claims-made cover can leave past work permanently uninsured.
Full disclosure is non-negotiable. We will not present a risk in a way that hides a material fact. It would not protect you: under the Insurance Act 2015 the insurer could avoid the policy at claim time.

Frequently asked

Can I switch professional indemnity insurer while a claim is open?

Yes. The open claim stays with the insurer that was on risk when it was notified, and a new insurer takes on your future exposure with a retroactive date matching your existing cover. The new policy will exclude the known claim, which is normal.

Will one claim make my PI premium go up?

Often, but how much depends on the size, the outcome and what changed. A closed claim with a clear root cause and a process fix is routine for specialist insurers. An open claim with a large reserve is harder, and the terms reflect that.

Should I notify a complaint even if I think it is unfounded?

Yes, as a circumstance. Notifying costs nothing and locks the matter into the current policy. Not notifying, then finding it excluded from next year’s policy as a known circumstance, can be an uninsured loss.

What is a retroactive date and why does it matter after a claim?

It is the earliest date of work the policy will cover. A new policy with a retroactive date later than your existing one leaves a gap for older work — exactly the work most likely to generate a claim. We check it on every switch.

My insurer has non-renewed me because of a claim — what now?

Tell us the expiry date today and send the claims summary. Non-renewal after a claim is a common non-standard placement, and the presentation of what changed is what decides it.

Renewal after a claim? Get it presented properly

Send us the claims summary, your schedule and what has changed since. A named Apex broker will tell you plainly what the market will make of it and whether staying or moving is the better route. Or call 0117 325 0027.

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Apex 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 about professional indemnity insurance, not advice on your individual circumstances, and it does not guarantee that cover will be available or on what terms.