Switching PI broker: what solicitors should know

Why firms move

The renewal ran late. Terms arriving days before expiry, with no time to question them, is the most common trigger. In a selective market, late is expensive: insurers decline submissions they cannot complete, and a firm with one quotation has nothing to negotiate with.

The submission did not describe the firm. Partners read the proposal form that went out and do not recognise their own practice in it — supervision described in a sentence, claims listed with no explanation, work mix out of date. Underwriters price what they are shown.

No explanation of the outcome. A premium increase or a raised excess with no account of which insurers were approached, what they said, and why the chosen terms were the best available. Firms are entitled to know how their own risk was marketed.

No specialism in the class. Solicitors PI is a small market written to the SRA Minimum Terms by participating insurers. A generalist broker who places one or two firms a year rarely has the underwriter relationships to help when the answer is not automatic.

Life-cycle events. A merger, a new department, a first significant claim, or partners approaching retirement all change what the firm needs from a broker.

Timing around the renewal cycle

The SRA’s indemnity period runs from 1 October, and although renewal dates are now spread through the year, 1 October remains a common one — which means the market gets busy in the run-up to it. Work backwards from your own expiry date.

Three to four months out is the moment to appoint. That gives a new broker time to collect claims information from your existing insurer, interview the partners, draft a presentation, agree the market approach with you and still leave room for underwriter questions.

Six to eight weeks out is workable for a straightforward firm, but the presentation gets thinner and there is little room to go back to an insurer with more information.

Inside a month is a rescue, not a switch. It can be done — brokers do it regularly for firms in difficulty — but you should expect fewer options.

If you have already received a non-renewal notice, the calculation changes again, because the extended policy period and cessation period are now in play. That situation is covered separately.

Handling the market: the part that goes wrong

The single biggest risk in changing broker is duplicate approaches. If your outgoing broker and your new broker both submit your firm to the same insurer, the underwriter sees a risk being shopped without direction, and in a class where relationships matter that can produce an immediate decline — from an insurer who might otherwise have quoted.

The fix is administrative and takes ten minutes. Either agree a written market split in advance, naming which insurers each broker will approach, or write to your outgoing broker instructing them not to approach the market at all and confirming which insurers they have already contacted. Get that in writing before anyone picks up a phone. A broker who resists putting it in writing is worth a second look.

Where an incumbent broker has already approached your existing insurer, that approach usually stands. Your new broker works the rest of the market and you compare on the table.

What a new broker needs from you

Assemble this before the first meeting and the process moves quickly.

Claims information. A full claims summary or loss run covering the standard six-year look-back, including notifications that never became claims, with current reserves. If your outgoing broker holds it, request it in writing; if not, your insurer will provide it.

Policy documents. Current and expiring schedules and wordings, any endorsements, and the last proposal form submitted, so the new broker can see what was said and correct anything that has moved.

The firm’s shape. Fee income split by work type, partner and fee earner numbers, supervision structure, offices, and any lender panel memberships.

The narrative. What has changed since last renewal — departures, new departments, work types stopped, remediation after a claim. This is what turns a form into a case.

Remuneration. Ask, on day one, how the broker is paid: commission from the insurer, a fee from the firm, or a combination, and how it will be disclosed. Agree the basis in writing before the market is approached, so the conversation about premium later is not also a conversation about the broker’s income.

Questions worth asking before you appoint

How many solicitors firms do you place, and of what size? Which participating insurers do you deal with directly, and which through a wholesale route? Who will actually handle our account — the person in this meeting? How far ahead of expiry do you start? Will we see the submission before it goes out? How do you handle a notification, and who advises us on whether to notify circumstances? How are you remunerated? And, plainly: what would you do differently from what was done last year?

The answer to the last question tells you most. A broker who can look at your expiring presentation and point to three specific things they would change is offering something concrete. One who leads with the premium alone is offering a guess.

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

When is the best time to change PI broker?

Well before renewal — ideally three to four months out. A new broker needs time to gather claims information, build the presentation and agree with you which insurers to approach. Changing in the final fortnight leaves too little room to do any of that properly, and duplicated approaches to the same underwriter can harm the outcome.

Will changing broker mean two brokers approaching the same insurer?

It should not, and preventing it matters. Insurers dislike receiving the same risk from two intermediaries; it reads as a firm shopping without direction and can prompt a decline. The usual solution is a written market allocation agreed in advance, or a clean instruction to your outgoing broker confirming which insurers they will not approach.

What does a new broker need from us?

A completed proposal form, a full claims summary or loss run covering the usual six-year look-back, current and expiring policy schedules and wordings, fee income split by work type, staff and partner numbers, and a short note on anything that has changed — new work types, departures, remediation after a claim.

Should we ask how our broker is paid?

Yes, and you are entitled to a clear answer. Ask whether the broker is remunerated by commission from the insurer, by a fee from you, or a mix, and how that is disclosed. It is a routine question in a professional relationship and a broker who is uncomfortable answering it is telling you something.

Does switching broker affect our SRA position?

No. Your obligation is to hold qualifying insurance with a participating insurer, not to use a particular intermediary. What matters is that cover incepts without a gap from the expiry of your policy period — which is exactly why the handover should be planned rather than rushed.

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.