Cross-border PI for UK professionals

Category: Professional indemnity · Reviewed by the Apex broking team · Last reviewed 2026-08-22 · ~5 min read

Two clauses, not one

Practitioners routinely read a single line in the schedule — “Territorial limits: worldwide excluding USA/Canada” — and assume the question is answered. It is not. Most professional indemnity wordings contain a territorial limits provision, which asks where the professional services were carried out or where the act or omission occurred, and a separate jurisdiction provision, which asks where proceedings may be brought or a judgment enforced. A policy can be worldwide on territory and UK-only on jurisdiction, in which case work done in Spain is covered but only if the resulting claim is pursued in the courts of England and Wales. The two are explained further under policy territory.

The USA and Canada exclusion

Standard UK wordings exclude claims made or proceedings brought in, or judgments obtained in or enforced through, the courts of the United States of America or Canada, and often their territories and protectorates. The reasons are structural rather than arbitrary: contingency-fee litigation funding, jury trials, punitive damages, wider discovery and long-arm jurisdiction produce a severity profile that London markets price separately. The exclusion typically bites on the forum, not on the client’s nationality — so advising a US-domiciled client from London may be within cover if any dispute would be heard in England, while attending meetings in New York to advise on a US project usually is not.

What actually triggers a problem

Four fact patterns dominate. Work performed physically overseas, even briefly, where the territorial clause is narrower than the schedule appears. Contracts with a foreign governing law and jurisdiction clause, signed without checking whether the PI policy answers a judgment in that forum. Advice on assets, projects or entities located abroad, where the claimant will naturally sue where the asset is. And local establishment — a branch, a subsidiary, a registered office, or staff based in-country — which changes the analysis from “services performed abroad” to “insurance required abroad”.

Admitted and non-admitted insurance

Many jurisdictions require insurance covering local risks to be written by an insurer licensed in that country. A UK policy is non-admitted there. Where non-admitted insurance is prohibited, the consequences fall on the insured rather than on the insurer — the policy may be unenforceable locally, premium tax may be misapplied, claim payments may not be remittable, and in some countries there are penalties for the buyer. The usual answer is a locally admitted policy issued by a licensed insurer in-country, sitting under a global master programme that provides difference-in-conditions and difference-in-limits cover for the gap between local terms and the UK wording. That structure needs to be arranged before work begins, because a local policy cannot be backdated.

Regulatory and professional body requirements

Overseas work can also engage the requirements of the professional body that authorises the practice. UK regulators typically set minimum terms by reference to the practice’s regulated activity rather than by geography, so a firm can comply with its UK minimum terms and still be uninsured for the overseas exposure. Where the professional is registering with, or is regulated by, a body in the host country, that body will usually have its own insurance requirements, which are a separate condition to satisfy.

What to do before taking overseas work

Ask five questions and get the answers in writing. Where will the services physically be performed? What is the governing law and jurisdiction of the engagement contract? Where is the client, and where is the subject matter of the advice? Is there any local presence, or will there be? And does the host country prohibit non-admitted insurance for this class? Then take those answers to the broker before signing, so that territory, jurisdiction and any local placement can be arranged — extensions are routinely available in advance and rarely available afterwards. The related practical guidance is under UK professionals working abroad.

Why it matters

The gap here is quiet. Nothing goes wrong at the point of signing, and the exposure only surfaces years later when a claim is issued in a forum the policy does not recognise. By then the engagement is complete, the fee has been earned, and the only remaining question is who pays. A short conversation before the engagement is signed removes the whole problem.

Frequently asked questions

My schedule says worldwide territorial limits — am I covered anywhere?

Not necessarily. Territorial limits describe where the work may be done; a separate jurisdiction clause describes where a claim may be brought or a judgment enforced. Worldwide territory with UK-only jurisdiction means an overseas claim pursued abroad is outside cover.

Why do UK policies exclude the USA and Canada?

Because of the litigation environment in those jurisdictions — contingency fees, jury trials, punitive damages and broad discovery — which London markets underwrite and price separately rather than including as standard.

What is a locally admitted policy?

A policy issued by an insurer licensed in the country where the risk sits, used where that country prohibits or restricts non-admitted insurance. It usually sits beneath a master programme that fills the difference in conditions and limits.

Related entries

• UK professionals working abroad: territorial limits
• Professional indemnity policy territory
• Definition of Business
• Professional indemnity insurance

This entry is part of the Apex Insurance Wiki. Last reviewed 2026-08-22. Next review: 2027-02-22. It is general insurance information, not legal advice, and it describes UK market practice and law as at August 2026.

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.