Apex Insurance Brokers is a UK-wide Professional Indemnity (PI) insurance broker headquartered in Bristol. We act for professional services firms across the country, including a substantial number of clients in London — from sole practitioners working out of serviced offices in the West End to mid-sized law firms, surveying practices, technology consultancies and design studios across the Square Mile, Canary Wharf, Shoreditch and the wider M25.
We do not maintain a walk-in office in London. We have found, after speaking to several hundred London-based prospects over the years, that almost none want one. Renewal meetings, mid-term queries and claims discussions are handled by video call, telephone and secure document exchange. That is how most London professional firms now prefer to work with their broker, and it lets us put the time and fee saving from a London office overhead back into broking effort and claims advocacy on each client's behalf.
We are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA firm reference 724952). The same regulatory regime, market access and insurer relationships apply whether a client is in EC1, BS1 or anywhere else in the United Kingdom.
London's professional services sector
No city in the United Kingdom — and arguably few in the world — concentrates as much professional services activity per square mile as London. The professional, scientific and technical activities sector is consistently one of the capital's largest employers, and London accounts for a substantial share of UK output from professional services, finance and insurance combined.
The City of London (the Square Mile) and Canary Wharf together house the United Kingdom headquarters of the Magic Circle and most Silver Circle law firms, the Big Four accountancy networks, the global investment banks, and the Lloyd's of London insurance market. Midtown (around Holborn, Chancery Lane and Fleet Street) remains heavily oriented around the legal profession and barristers' chambers. The West End — Mayfair, St James's and Marylebone — concentrates asset managers, family offices, private banks, hedge funds and the boutique advisory firms that orbit them.
Beyond these core financial districts, London hosts the country's deepest pool of management consultancies, marketing and communications agencies, design studios, architectural practices, engineering consultancies, surveying firms and information technology consultancies. The Shoreditch–Old Street–King's Cross axis is now an established cluster for technology and digital firms, including a large population of independent IT consultants, software houses and product agencies. Architects' practices range from internationally known studios in Clerkenwell and Southwark down to small RIBA-chartered practices working on residential refurbishments across the boroughs.
Several characteristics tend to mark a London-based professional firm out from its equivalent elsewhere in the United Kingdom. Fee income per fee earner is, on average, higher. International clients are common, which means contracts may be governed by foreign law, and exposures may include work delivered to overseas counterparties. Client procurement teams — particularly in financial services, government and large corporates — frequently impose contractual minimum PI limits that exceed the firm's regulatory floor. Property values mean that even a routine residential surveyor's instruction can carry a higher claim quantum than the same job in a smaller city.
For PI broking, that combination matters. London firms more often need higher limits, layered programmes, or carefully drafted aggregation language. They also more often have to evidence cover quickly to win or retain a contract.
PI insurance for London-based professional firms
The mix of sectors in London means PI requirements vary widely.
Solicitors regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority must hold cover that complies with the SRA Minimum Terms and Conditions, with a minimum limit of £2 million for unincorporated firms and £3 million for incorporated practices. London commercial firms acting for institutional clients almost always carry significantly more — often in excess layers stacked above the primary policy.
Accountants regulated by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) or the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) must meet limit calculations based on fee income. Audit firms have additional considerations under the audit regulations, and London-based audit clients frequently include listed entities or large pension schemes.
Chartered surveyors regulated by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) must comply with the RICS minimum policy wording. London surveying practices undertaking high-value commercial valuation, party wall work or building surveys on prime central London stock often carry materially higher limits than the RICS schedule would otherwise indicate, because of property values and the profile of likely claimants.
Architects registered with the Architects Registration Board (ARB) and subject to the RIBA Code of Professional Conduct face the additional question of how design and build, novation and contractor-led projects are handled in the policy. London's volume of large-scale mixed-use schemes makes these features more than theoretical.
Management consultants, technology consultancies, recruitment firms, marketing agencies and other unregulated professional firms are not subject to a mandatory PI regime, but commonly find that client contracts impose PI requirements as a condition of engagement. Working out what limit, what wording and what excess actually fit a firm's commercial position — rather than just signing up to whatever a client demanded — is often where independent broking adds the most value.
How Apex serves London firms
We are an independent broker. We are not tied to a single insurer or panel. For each London client we approach the relevant section of the United Kingdom PI market — including Lloyd's of London syndicates, company markets and specialist managing general agents — and bring back terms that we believe represent fair value for the cover offered. We explain the differences between quotes rather than simply forwarding the cheapest one.
For day-to-day service, video meetings on Microsoft Teams, Google Meet or Zoom are standard. Telephone access is direct: 0117 325 0027 reaches the team during business hours. Documents are exchanged through secure email or our document portal. Renewal cycles are managed proactively rather than at the last minute.
When something goes wrong, the broker's most important job is claims advocacy. We sit on the policyholder's side of the table. We help with circumstance notifications, work with insurers and panel solicitors, and make sure the firm's position is properly represented. None of that requires a face-to-face meeting in London — it requires availability, sector knowledge and persistence.
Frequently asked questions
Do you have an office in London?
No. Apex Insurance Brokers is based in Bristol. We serve London-based professional firms remotely, by video meeting, telephone and secure document exchange, and travel to client offices in London when there is a particular reason to do so.
How does it work in practice if you are not local?
A typical engagement involves an initial scoping video call, a written summary of cover requirements, broking to the relevant insurers, presentation of options on a follow-up call, and electronic placement. Renewal each year is handled on the same basis. There is no practical difference from working with a London broker for most clients.
Can you advise our firm if our clients are international?
Yes. Many London firms have international clients, and the contractual position around governing law, jurisdiction and policy territorial limits is something we routinely advise on. Where the firm's exposure includes work delivered to United States or Canadian counterparties, we discuss whether the policy needs to extend to those territories and the cost of doing so.
What PI limits do London firms typically need?
It depends on the regulator, the firm's fee income, the nature of the work and what clients contractually require. London firms more often face contractual minimums above the regulatory floor — particularly when acting for banks, listed companies, public sector bodies or insurers. We help work out what limit makes commercial sense, not just what the regulator demands.
How are claims handled if we are based in London?
Claims advocacy is handled by telephone, email and video meeting. We notify insurers on the client's behalf, liaise with panel solicitors, and represent the firm's position throughout. Where attendance at a London location is genuinely useful, we arrange it.
Are you authorised to advise London firms?
Yes. Apex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (firm reference 724952). Our permissions cover insurance distribution across the United Kingdom.
Do you have access to the Lloyd's of London market?
Where a particular risk is best matched by a Lloyd's syndicate, we have established intermediary routes into the Lloyd's market in addition to the company-market insurers and managing general agents we deal with directly. We are not a Lloyd's broker in the FCA-designated sense — access is via the wholesale broker route, which is standard for specialist independent brokers our size.
Speak to Apex about your PI cover
If you run a professional firm in London and would like to discuss Professional Indemnity insurance — whether you are reviewing existing cover, approaching renewal, responding to a client contract requirement, or notifying a circumstance — please get in touch.
Telephone: 0117 325 0027 Email: info@apexinsurancebrokers.co.uk
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.