The solicitors PI market in 2026: what firms need to know

Where appetite sits, as at August 2026

Solicitors PI has always been a specialist class with a limited number of insurers willing to sign the SRA’s participating insurer’s agreement and write to the Minimum Terms. Over recent renewal seasons several insurers have scaled back what they will look at — sometimes by withdrawing from the class, more often by narrowing to firm profiles they understand well and declining the rest.

The practical consequence is not a uniform hardening. It is a widening gap between firms that present as straightforward and firms that do not. A clean, well-supervised practice with a diversified work mix will still see competition. A firm with a live six-figure notification, a heavy conveyancing book and two partners will find the list of insurers prepared to quote is short, and that the ones who do quote take their time.

This is a qualitative reading of the market from a broker’s desk, not a forecast. Appetite changes between renewal seasons and sometimes within them.

The profiles insurers are most cautious on

High conveyancing ratio. Conveyancing is the work type underwriters interrogate hardest. The questions are about share of fee income, transaction volumes, whether the firm acts for lenders, panel memberships, and how many qualified people are genuinely supervising the file load.

Small partner counts carrying large workloads. A two- or three-partner firm running high volumes raises a supervision question before it raises anything else. Key-person concentration matters too: what happens to the files if one partner is ill for three months.

Claims history without a story. Notifications alone are normal. Notifications with no visible change in how the firm works are what push an underwriter toward decline.

Recent rapid growth or a new work type. A firm that has just taken on a department, a merger or an unfamiliar area of law is underwriting a new risk, and the file will be read that way.

Weak cyber and payment controls. Solicitors handle client money and payment instructions, which makes them a standing target. Underwriters increasingly ask about multi-factor authentication, payment verification callbacks for changed bank details, and staff training — on the PI submission, not only the cyber one.

What has not changed: the regulatory floor

Whatever the market is doing, the SRA Indemnity Insurance Rules still require an authorised body to take out and maintain qualifying insurance with a participating insurer — an authorised insurer which has entered into a participating insurer’s agreement with the SRA that remains in force for underwriting new business when the contract is made.

The Minimum Terms and Conditions set the sum insured for any one claim, exclusive of defence costs, at a minimum of £3 million where the insured firm is a relevant recognised body or relevant licensed body in respect of SRA-regulated activities under its licence, and £2 million in all other cases, with no monetary limit permitted on defence costs. Run-off cover must extend the period of insurance by an additional six years. And if renewal fails, the extended policy period of up to 30 days and the following cessation period — ending 90 days after the extended policy period began — are the structure you fall into, with a prohibition on new instructions once the cessation period starts.

None of that flexes because the market is tight. It is the fixed frame inside which the negotiation happens.

How to present well

Supervision, described concretely. Not ‘partners supervise fee earners’, but who reviews what, at what stage, with what sign-off thresholds, and how that is evidenced. Underwriters are trying to work out whether a mistake would be caught before it reached a client.

File reviews with teeth. Say how many files are reviewed, by whom, against what checklist, and what happens when a review finds a problem. A firm that can describe a review that led to a change is describing a working control.

Cyber and payment controls. Multi-factor authentication, verification callbacks to known numbers before any change of bank details, restrictions on where client data can be sent, and training that staff have actually sat. These now read as PI-relevant, because the losses they prevent land as claims against the firm.

Claims explained, individually. One short paragraph per notification: circumstances, current status or reserve, and the specific change made afterwards. This is the single highest-value page in most submissions.

Work mix set out honestly. Percentages of fee income by work type, with commentary on anything that has moved. If the firm has stopped doing something risky, that deserves to be stated plainly — it is often the strongest thing in the file.

Time. Start early enough that an underwriter can ask a question and get an answer without the expiry date pressing on both of you.

Succession and run-off for smaller firms

For firms with an ageing partnership, PI and succession are the same conversation. Run-off cover under the Minimum Terms extends the period of insurance by an additional six years from the date cover would otherwise have ended, and the cost falls on the partners at closure. Where there is a successor practice, the Minimum Terms allow the firm to elect before cessation whether the ceased practice is covered by run-off or insured as a prior practice under the successor firm’s policy — a decision with real financial consequences that should be modelled, not defaulted.

Firms that think about this three years out have choices: merger, orderly wind-down, gradual reshaping of the work mix to make the practice more insurable. Firms that meet it at a renewal have far fewer.

This page is general insurance information from an FCA-regulated insurance broker. It is not legal advice and it is not regulatory advice, and it does not replace the SRA’s own rules and guidance or advice from your compliance officer. Regulatory positions described here are as at August 2026 — check the current SRA Indemnity Insurance Rules and Minimum Terms and Conditions before acting.

Frequently asked questions

What is the minimum PI limit a solicitors firm must carry?

Under the SRA Minimum Terms and Conditions the sum insured for any one claim, exclusive of defence costs, must be at least £3 million where the insured firm is a relevant recognised body or a relevant licensed body in respect of SRA-regulated activities under its licence, and at least £2 million in all other cases. There is no monetary limit permitted on defence costs cover.

Why do insurers focus so much on conveyancing?

It is the work type that generates a large share of claims notifications across the profession, it involves client money and lender duties, and volume conveyancing done with thin supervision compounds errors quickly. Firms with a high conveyancing share of fee income relative to partner numbers usually face the most detailed questioning.

Does having claims mean we cannot get cover?

No. Underwriters expect a practice of any size to have notifications. What changes the outcome is explanation: what happened, what it cost, and precisely what the firm changed afterwards. An unexplained loss run is treated far more harshly than a difficult claim with a clear remediation story.

Should we start renewal earlier than usual?

In a tighter market, yes. Underwriting a solicitors firm takes real time and insurers decline rushed submissions they cannot complete. Starting well before expiry produces options, and options are what allow you to negotiate excess levels, limits and terms rather than accept a single offer.

What should small firms do about succession and run-off?

Plan for it while trading. Run-off cover under the Minimum Terms extends the period of insurance by an additional six years, and it is a cost the partners carry at closure. Firms with an ageing partnership should model that cost and consider merger or succession options long before a renewal forces the question.

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