Apex Insurance Brokers Limited is a Bristol-based independent insurance broker that arranges professional indemnity (PI) cover for firms across the United Kingdom, including a growing number of Oxford-based consultancies, spinouts and chartered practices. We do not maintain an office in Oxford. Our team works remotely with clients across the city and surrounding region, supported by telephone, email and video meetings.
We are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under firm reference 724952. Our role as an independent broker is to understand each Oxford client's professional services, scope of advice and contractual obligations, then approach insurers on their behalf to arrange suitable PI cover.
The pages that follow set out what we do, the sectors we focus on and how we work with Oxford firms remotely.
Oxford's professional services sector
Oxford's economy is shaped, to an unusual degree, by the University of Oxford and the commercialisation pipeline that has grown around it. The colleges, the university's research departments and the various technology transfer functions feed a steady flow of spinouts, research-intensive consultancies and advisory practices into the city and the surrounding science parks.
Oxford Science Park, Begbroke Science Park and the wider Harwell Campus to the south support a cluster of life-sciences and deep-tech businesses. Names associated with the cluster include Oxford Nanopore Technologies, Vaccitech, Adaptimmune and Oxford Biomedica, alongside a long-standing instruments and hardware presence through firms such as Oxford Instruments. The city's history with Sophos and other software businesses underlines a parallel software and cyber-security tradition.
Publishing remains a recognisable Oxford industry, anchored by Oxford University Press and a number of smaller academic and reference publishers. Consulting, research, education services and professional support businesses cluster around the university, with many sole practitioners and small partnerships providing specialist advice in fields ranging from economics to engineering.
The regional legal market includes Oxford offices of firms such as Penningtons Manches Cooper, Knights, Blake Morgan and Royds Withy King, supporting a transactional and commercial advisory market shaped by the university, science parks and a high-value property base. Chartered surveyors and architectural practices work extensively on college estates, listed buildings within the city centre and conservation-area properties, alongside new commercial development on the science parks.
Taken together, Oxford's professional firms tend to operate at the intersection of academic research, intellectual property and commercial advisory work. That mix has a direct bearing on the way PI cover should be structured.
PI insurance for Oxford-based professional firms
Professional indemnity insurance responds to claims that a client (or sometimes a third party) suffered loss because of professional advice, design or services. For Oxford firms, several characteristics of the local market tend to influence the cover that is appropriate.
- Spinouts and research-intensive consultancies. Many Oxford businesses provide advisory work that blends academic research, modelling and commercial recommendations. PI wordings should be considered against the scope of services actually delivered, including data, code and reports passed to clients.
- Technology and IP overlap. Where work involves software, algorithms, data analytics or technology consulting, there is often an overlap with technology errors and omissions (E&O) and intellectual property exposures. Insurers' approaches to IP infringement, breach of confidentiality and contractual liability vary.
- Life sciences and regulated activities. Firms working alongside clinical, pharmaceutical or medical-device clients may face contractual indemnity requirements and need to consider how PI interacts with product liability and clinical trial insurances.
- Architects and surveyors on heritage stock. Practices working on college estates and listed property need to think about historical defects, design liability and the reach of their consultancy appointments. The Architects Registration Board (ARB) sets minimum PI standards for registered architects, and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) sets minimum terms for regulated firms.
- Accountants and tax advisers. The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) each set minimum PI requirements for member firms, including limits, run-off cover and aggregation provisions.
Where Oxford firms hold contracts with universities, NHS bodies, large corporates or government agencies, contractual indemnity wording can have a meaningful impact on the cover required.
How Apex serves Oxford firms
Apex operates as a remote-first broker. From our Bristol office at 53 Queen Charlotte Street we work with professional firms across the UK, including in Oxford, through scheduled telephone and video meetings, secure email and document exchange. Site visits are arranged where they add value, but most of our work for Oxford clients is carried out without face-to-face meetings.
Three practical aspects shape how we work:
- Independent market access. As an FCA-regulated broker (firm reference 724952), we approach a range of UK insurers and, where relevant, Lloyd's syndicates. We are not tied to a single insurer.
- Sector understanding. Our team focuses on PI for professional services firms, including accountants, consultants, surveyors, architects, IT consultants and management consultants. We work through the scope of services with each client before approaching the market.
- Claims advocacy. If a claim or circumstance arises, we act as the client's broker in dealings with insurers and, where appointed, panel solicitors. We do not act for the insurer.
Our service is designed so that location is not a barrier. Oxford firms generally find that documents, quotations and queries can be handled by email and video meetings without the need for travel.
Frequently asked questions
Do you have an office in Oxford?
No. Apex Insurance Brokers is based in Bristol and serves Oxford firms remotely by telephone, email and video meeting. We do not have a physical office in Oxford.
Are you authorised to advise Oxford firms?
Yes. Apex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FCA firm reference 724952. Our authorisation is UK-wide and applies to clients based in Oxford and the surrounding region.
Do you understand the PI requirements that apply to Oxford consultancies?
We work regularly with consultancies, accountants, surveyors and architects, and we read each client's appointment terms and applicable regulatory rules before approaching the insurance market. Where a firm is regulated by a body such as the ICAEW, ACCA, RICS or ARB, we factor the minimum PI terms into the placement.
Can you place cover for university spinouts and life-sciences consultancies?
We arrange PI for a range of research-intensive and technology-focused consultancies. The structure of cover depends on the services delivered, the contracts in place and the firm's claims history. Where activities extend into clinical, regulatory or product-related work, we discuss how PI interacts with other lines of cover, such as product liability or clinical trial insurance, with the client and the insurer.
How are claims handled if we are in Oxford?
Claims and circumstances are notified to insurers through us. We manage correspondence remotely and coordinate with appointed solicitors and the insurer's claims team. Oxford clients typically deal with us by email and telephone throughout the claim.
Do you cover technology and IP-related exposures alongside PI?
Many Oxford firms have an overlap between professional advice and technology services, including software development, data analytics and cyber-related work. We discuss combined PI and technology E&O wordings, and where appropriate cyber cover, so that the package reflects the actual services delivered. Cover availability and terms depend on the insurer's underwriting.
What happens to our cover if we close, sell or restructure the firm?
PI is generally written on a claims-made basis, which means run-off cover may be required after a firm ceases trading, is sold or restructures. Regulators including the ICAEW, ACCA, RICS and ARB set minimum run-off periods for member firms. We discuss run-off and continuity at renewal and at the point of any change in the business.
Speak to Apex about your PI cover
If you are based in Oxford and would like to discuss professional indemnity cover, contact our team in Bristol:
- Telephone: 0117 325 0027
- Email: info@apexinsurancebrokers.co.uk
We will arrange a call or video meeting to talk through your firm's services, current cover and renewal timing.
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. Registered office: 53 Queen Charlotte Street, Bristol, BS1 4HQ. Last reviewed: May 2026.