RICS professional indemnity insurance requirements for surveyors
Reviewed by Matthew Bartlett, Director, Apex Insurance Brokers Limited · Last reviewed 2026-08-05
If your firm is regulated by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), professional indemnity (PI) insurance is not optional and it is not left to your judgement of what looks sensible. RICS sets out specific structural requirements your policy must meet, and a policy that would satisfy a general commercial buyer will not necessarily satisfy RICS. This guide explains the framework as it stands, following the changes RICS phased in from 2025, without quoting figures that move — you should always verify the current bands and thresholds against RICS's own published requirements before you buy or renew.
Who the requirement applies to
The obligation sits at firm level, not individual level. A firm regulated by RICS — whether it undertakes valuations, building surveys, quantity surveying, property management or agency — must maintain PI cover that meets RICS's minimum requirements for as long as it is registered, and must be able to evidence that cover to RICS on request. This applies regardless of firm size, from a sole practitioner to a large multi-office practice. The requirement is a condition of RICS regulation, so a gap in compliant cover is a regulatory matter, not just a commercial risk.
The four building blocks of a compliant policy
RICS's requirements are best understood as four connected components. A policy has to satisfy all of them, not just carry a big enough headline limit.
- RICS-approved minimum policy wording. The cover must be written on wording that meets RICS's approved minimum terms. This is the single most distinctive feature of surveyors' PI — the wording guarantees a floor of cover (for example around claims for negligence, and the treatment of run-off and aggregation) that a generic PI policy may not provide.
- A minimum limit of indemnity set by turnover band. Rather than one flat minimum, RICS ties the required limit of indemnity to the firm's annual turnover, in tiers. Higher turnover means a higher minimum limit. Many firms carry more than the minimum where their work is high-value or high-risk.
- A capped uninsured excess. RICS limits how large your self-insured excess can be, relative to the level of cover, so that a firm cannot meet the letter of the rule with a nominal premium and an excess so high that clients are effectively unprotected.
- Run-off cover on closure. When a regulated firm ceases to trade, it must arrange run-off cover so that claims arising from past work can still be met. RICS has long expected run-off to be maintained for a minimum period (commonly six years), and its arrangements are designed to make sure cover does not simply vanish the day a firm closes.
Why the turnover-band structure matters
The turnover-band approach is why there is no single number to quote. RICS deliberately scales the minimum limit of indemnity to the size of the practice, on the logic that a larger firm handles more instructions, larger values and therefore greater aggregate exposure. As your turnover crosses from one band into the next, the minimum limit you must carry steps up.
The practical consequence: if your firm has grown since your last renewal, your previous limit may no longer be compliant even though nothing about the policy itself has changed. This is one of the most common ways firms fall short without realising it. Review your turnover against the current bands at each renewal — and note that RICS publishes and periodically updates those bands, so last year's table is not a safe reference point.
Not sure your limit still matches your turnover band? We place RICS-compliant PI for surveyors and check the wording, limit, excess and run-off in one go.
Get a PI quote →Approved wording vs a standard PI policy
It is worth being explicit about how surveyors' PI differs from an off-the-shelf professional indemnity policy, because the difference is exactly what RICS is protecting.
| Feature | Generic PI policy | RICS-compliant PI |
|---|---|---|
| Policy wording | Insurer's own terms | Meets RICS approved minimum terms |
| Minimum limit | Chosen freely by the buyer | Set by turnover band |
| Excess | Negotiable, uncapped | Capped relative to the limit |
| Run-off on closure | Optional | Required, minimum period expected |
Illustratively, a firm might carry a limit of £1m, £2m or £5m depending on its turnover band and risk appetite — these are generic options, not the RICS minimum. The point is that whatever the number, it must be underpinned by approved wording and sit within the excess cap.
Run-off cover — the part firms overlook
Because PI is written on a claims-made basis, a claim is met by the policy in force when the claim is notified, not when the work was done. If a firm simply lets its policy lapse on closure, work carried out years earlier is left uninsured. That is why RICS requires run-off cover for a firm that ceases trading, so that former clients retain protection against latent errors that surface after the doors have closed.
RICS has continued to develop how run-off is delivered, including changes taking effect from 2025 aimed at making sure closing firms cannot be left without cover. Treat run-off as part of your exit planning from the outset, not an afterthought at the point of closure — and confirm the current minimum run-off period and arrangements directly with RICS, as these are among the details RICS has been updating.
Staying compliant at renewal
A practical checklist for each renewal: confirm your policy is on RICS-approved minimum wording; check your turnover against the current published bands and match your limit accordingly; make sure your excess is within the permitted cap; and keep evidence of cover ready for RICS. Because the bands, excess thresholds and run-off rules are all subject to RICS review, the safest approach is to verify each of them against RICS's current published requirements every year rather than assuming last year's position still holds. A specialist broker who places surveyors' PI regularly can do this cross-check as part of your renewal.
If you would like that check done for you, start a quote with Apex and we will confirm the wording, limit, excess and run-off against the current framework.
Common questions
Does RICS set one fixed minimum level of cover?
No. RICS scales the minimum limit of indemnity to the firm's annual turnover through a series of bands, so a larger firm must carry a higher minimum than a smaller one. There is no single figure — always check the current published bands for your turnover.
Can I just use my existing business PI policy?
Only if it meets RICS's approved minimum policy wording, sits within the excess cap and carries a limit appropriate to your turnover band. A standard commercial PI policy will often fall short on wording, which is why surveyors are normally placed on RICS-specific cover.
What happens to cover when my firm closes?
You must arrange run-off cover so past work remains insured, as PI responds to when a claim is made rather than when the work was done. RICS expects run-off to be maintained for a minimum period; confirm the current requirement with RICS as part of your closure planning.
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.