Renewal shock, and what to do about it.
Switching your professional indemnity insurance broker
You opened this year's professional indemnity renewal and the premium had jumped, sometimes sharply, with little explanation beyond “market conditions”. That is the moment most firms start asking whether their current broker is still the right one. The good news: switching brokers is straightforward, it does not put your continuous cover at risk, and it can be the single most effective thing you do to get your programme back under control. This page explains why renewals move, how a broker change actually works, and what you should expect from the arrangement afterwards.
Why did my PI renewal jump?
A premium increase is rarely about your firm alone. Professional indemnity is a cyclical market, and rates for a given class of work harden or soften depending on how insurers are performing across the whole book. When a class sees a run of claims, insurers re-price everyone in it, tighten their appetite, or withdraw capacity altogether. If that happens, your renewal can rise even in a year where you did nothing wrong and had no claims.
That said, several firm-level factors do move the number, and it is worth understanding which apply to you:
- Fee income and work mix. Growth in turnover, or a shift into higher-risk disciplines, changes your exposure and therefore your rating.
- Claims and circumstances. Notified claims, or even circumstances notified but not yet crystallised, will be reflected at renewal.
- Insurer appetite. If your current insurer is pulling back from your profession, you may be quoted a “go away” price rather than a competitive one.
- A thin market at renewal. If your broker only approached one or two insurers, you may simply not be seeing what the wider market would offer.
That last point is the one many firms miss. A large increase is not automatically the market's verdict on your firm; it can be the verdict of a renewal that was not properly marketed. The way to find out is to test your risk against a broad panel of insurers, which is exactly what a broker change lets you do.
How switching brokers actually works
Switching does not mean cancelling your policy or leaving a gap. In practice it is a change of who represents you to the market, and it is handled through a short, well-established process:
- You appoint the new broker. You sign a letter of appointment (often called a Letter of Authority). This authorises the new broker to speak to insurers on your behalf and to obtain information about your existing cover.
- The new broker gathers your history. They collect your current policy schedule, claims experience and proposal information, either from you or, with your authority, from the incumbent.
- Your risk is marketed. The new broker approaches the insurers most suited to your profession and negotiates terms, rather than simply renewing where you already sit.
- You review and decide. You see the options, the terms and the reasoning, and only then choose whether to move.
You can switch at renewal, which is cleanest, or mid-term if there is good reason. Most firms time the move to their renewal date. Solicitors, for example, almost always align to the SRA common renewal date of 1 October, and the sensible time to start a review is roughly three months out so there is room to market the risk properly rather than scramble in the final fortnight. Whatever your profession, appointing early is the difference between a considered placement and a rushed one.
Do I lose my retroactive or continuous cover? No.
This is the fear that keeps firms with a broker they have outgrown, and it is misplaced. Professional indemnity is written on a claims-made basis, which means the policy that responds is the one in force when a claim is made against you, not the one in force when you did the work. To protect you for past work, policies carry a retroactive date, and cover for anything done since that date continues as long as you hold unbroken PI insurance.
Changing broker does not touch any of this. Your broker is your representative, not your insurer. When you move, a properly handled placement preserves your retroactive date so that your historic work stays covered under the new policy. Even if you also change insurer, the incoming insurer records the same retroactive date and picks up continuity of cover. What matters is that the chain of cover is unbroken, and that is precisely what a competent broker manages for you during the switch. Done correctly, you should notice no change to the scope of your protection for past matters, only, ideally, better terms going forward.
What a named broker does that a portal will not
Plenty of firms now renew through an online portal or a call-centre that treats every account the same. That works until it does not, and PI is a class where it usually does not. When your risk is unusual, when you have a claim, or when the market tightens, you need someone who knows your firm and will argue your case.
At Apex, every client has a named, director-level broker who handles placement, claims advocacy and renewal personally. In practice that means:
- Your risk is presented, not processed. A named broker who understands your work can frame your firm to insurers in a way that earns better terms, particularly on difficult or specialist risks.
- Real access to the market. We place through more than 30 qualifying and professional-lines insurer markets, so your renewal is tested widely rather than rubber-stamped.
- Someone in your corner on a claim. If a claim or circumstance arises, your broker advocates for you with the insurer rather than leaving you to fill in a form and wait.
- Continuity year on year. The same person handles your renewal each time, which is a large part of why we retain around 95% of our clients.
We are directly FCA-authorised and regulated (FRN 724952), based in Bristol and serving professional firms across the South West of England and South Wales, from solicitors and accountants to architects, surveyors, financial advisers and IT consultants. You can see the full range of professions we cover on our sectors page.
Frequently asked questions
Will there be a gap in my cover if I switch?
No. A switch is a change of broker, not a cancellation. Your existing policy runs to its expiry and the new cover incepts the moment the old one ends, so there is no gap and no break in your continuous cover.
Is my retroactive date protected when I move?
Yes. A correctly handled placement carries your existing retroactive date across to the new policy, so all work done since that date remains covered. If you change insurer as well as broker, the incoming insurer records the same retroactive date.
Can I switch mid-term or only at renewal?
Both are possible, but most firms switch at renewal because it is cleanest and avoids any short-period considerations. We generally suggest starting a review about three months before renewal so your risk can be properly marketed.
Does changing broker mean I have to change insurer too?
Not necessarily. Sometimes the best outcome is staying with your current insurer on renegotiated terms; sometimes a different insurer offers a better fit. A named broker markets your risk and lets you choose on the evidence.
My renewal went up a lot. Does that mean I am a bad risk?
Not on its own. Increases are often driven by the wider market or by a renewal that was not marketed to enough insurers. Testing your risk across a broad panel is the only reliable way to find out what your firm should actually be paying.
How much of my time does switching take?
Very little. Once you sign a letter of appointment, your named broker gathers the information, approaches the market and comes back to you with options. You spend your time on the decision, not the admin.
Get a quote / Speak to a broker
If your renewal has jumped or you simply want your professional indemnity properly tested against the market, we can help. Start a quote request, ask about wider cover through our commercial quote form, or contact the team to speak to a named, director-level broker. Apex Insurance Brokers is FCA-authorised and regulated, FRN 724952.