RIBA Chartered Practice PI insurance requirements

Reviewed by Apex Insurance Brokers · Last reviewed 2026-08-05

RIBA and ARB are two different things

Confusion here is common, so it is worth separating the two bodies clearly.

The Architects Registration Board (ARB) is the UK statutory regulator, created under the Architects Act 1997. You must be on the ARB register to call yourself an "architect" in the UK. ARB requires registered architects to hold "adequate and appropriate" professional indemnity insurance as a condition of registration and of its Code of Conduct.

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional membership body, not a statutory regulator. It runs the Chartered Practice scheme, which lets a practice use "RIBA Chartered Practice" status and the associated branding. Membership is voluntary, but if you want it, you must meet RIBA's own criteria — and holding suitable PII is one of them.

So a practice can face a PII expectation from both directions at once: ARB's statutory duty on the individual architects, and RIBA's membership criterion on the practice as an entity.

Where PII sits in the Chartered Practice criteria

RIBA sets a group of criteria a practice must satisfy to become and remain a Chartered Practice. These are set and revised by RIBA, so always check the institute's current published list, but they broadly cover:

• A minimum proportion of principals who are RIBA Chartered Members / architects, and an architect-to-staff ratio across the practice.
• Holding adequate and appropriate professional indemnity insurance for the work carried out.
• Having required practice policies in place — typically covering health and safety, quality management, equality, diversity and inclusion, employment, environmental sustainability and continuing professional development (CPD).
• Adhering to the RIBA Code of Professional Conduct.

PII is therefore not a bolt-on. It is one of the substantive tests that determine whether a practice qualifies for, and keeps, Chartered Practice status.

"Adequate and appropriate" — not a single fixed number

Both RIBA (for practices) and ARB (for individuals) frame the duty around cover being adequate and appropriate, rather than publishing one universal limit that fits every firm. That wording matters. What is appropriate for a sole practitioner doing domestic extensions is very different from what is appropriate for a multi-disciplinary studio delivering large commercial or public-sector schemes.

In practice, an appropriate limit of indemnity is driven by:

• The value and complexity of the projects you take on.
• Your fee income and the size of contracts you are engaged under.
• Client and contract requirements — many appointments specify a minimum limit and how long cover must be maintained.
• Your exposure to higher-risk work, including anything touching fire safety, cladding or building safety.

ARB publishes guidance on the level of cover it expects registered architects to carry, historically expressed as a minimum for smaller practices with a mechanism scaling to turnover. Because those figures and the guidance around them can change, we deliberately do not quote a current number here — check ARB's and RIBA's live guidance for the figure that applies now rather than relying on a remembered threshold. There is a separate page describing our broking approach for architects.

RIBA vs ARB at a glance

What "appropriate" cover usually looks like in practice

Architects' PII is normally arranged on a "claims made" basis, meaning the policy in force when a claim is made responds — not the one in force when you did the work. Two features follow from that:

• Run-off cover. When a practice closes, merges or a principal retires, you still need continuing cover for past work. RIBA and client appointments often expect run-off to be maintained for a defined period.
• Limit of indemnity. Commonly discussed generic options include cover such as £1m, £2m or £5m for any one claim — but the right figure is the one that reflects your actual project values, contract terms and risk profile, not a default.

Also check whether limits are "each and every claim" or "in the aggregate", and how the policy treats fire-safety and building-safety exposures, which insurers have scrutinised closely in recent years. Talk to us about the right structure before you commit to a limit for a Chartered Practice application.

Keeping it in place year on year

Chartered Practice status is not a one-off tick. RIBA reviews continued eligibility, and PII must remain in force and appropriate as your work changes. If you move into larger or higher-risk projects, the cover that satisfied the criterion last year may no longer be adequate. Treat PII as something you reassess at each renewal alongside your policy documents, not just at first application.

Common questions

Does ARB registration mean I automatically meet RIBA's PII criterion?
Not automatically. They are separate requirements from separate bodies. ARB's duty applies to individual architects; RIBA assesses the practice against its own Chartered Practice criteria. Satisfying one does not confirm the other — check both.

Is there a fixed minimum limit for a RIBA Chartered Practice?
RIBA frames the requirement as "adequate and appropriate" cover rather than a single universal figure. Any minimum expectation and its scaling can change, so confirm the current position in RIBA's and ARB's live published guidance.

What happens to cover if my practice closes?
You still need run-off cover for work already completed, because PII is typically written on a claims-made basis. Maintaining run-off for the period expected by RIBA and by your past client appointments protects you against later claims.

Apex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 724952). This guide is general information, not advice on a specific policy or a substitute for your policy wording.