This is the operational playbook for a firm principal who has just discovered a possible professional indemnity claim or circumstance. Read it, then act. It walks through the mechanics of the first 30 days — what needs doing, in what order, and where the common mistakes live. It is not a substitute for advice from your broker, defence panel firm or regulator; it is the map of the terrain. A PI notification is time-sensitive rather than an emergency, and decisions taken in the first three days often shape what the insurer can do for the next three years. The goal is not to resolve the matter — that will take much longer — but to protect cover, preserve evidence and put the professional advisers in a position to act.
Most UK PI wordings, and every SRA Minimum Terms and Conditions (MTC) policy, draw a sharp line between two concepts.
A claim is a demand for money or a formal allegation of civil liability — a letter of claim under the Professional Negligence Pre-Action Protocol, issued proceedings, a claim form, or a written demand for compensation. A solicitor's letter demanding damages certainly is.
A circumstance is broader and, for most firms, is where the first 30 days start. It is an event, act, omission or state of affairs that could reasonably be expected to give rise to a claim in the future — a missed limitation date, an error in a completion statement, an oversight in a set of accounts, a design decision miscalculated — all before anybody writes a letter of claim.
The SRA MTC, and most PI wordings, require notification of both, and the obligation is triggered on knowledge. The wording varies — "the insured shall notify the insurer as soon as practicable" is common — but the effect is the same: once a partner or principal knows the facts, the clock is running. There is no threshold of "seriousness" in the wording. A notification that turns out to be nothing is a good notification; a delayed notification of a real claim can void cover.
The first 72 hours are about protecting the position, not resolving it. Four things need doing.
Preserve everything. The file, emails on the server, digital records, case management entries, file notes, accounts entries, meeting minutes and any system audit logs. If your retention policy would ordinarily delete material at a certain age, freeze it for the affected file. Do not print emails and delete the originals; server metadata is often decisive later. If a fee-earner is about to leave, take their inbox and local drive before the laptop is returned.
Do not respond to the claimant beyond a bare acknowledgement. A single sentence — "Thank you for your email of 8 July; we will come back to you shortly" — is fine. Anything more risks an inadvertent admission, and anything substantive should wait until the broker and, once appointed, the defence panel firm have had sight.
Identify the file or files affected. Which matter, which fee-earner, which supervising partner. Is there more than one matter in scope — a systemic issue that touches every completion of a certain type over an eighteen-month period? Scope is often broader than the first email suggests.
Check the current PI policy schedule. Insurer, limit of indemnity, retroactive date, broker of record. If the alleged act predates the retroactive date, cover may not respond; if the current insurer differs from the one at the time of the act, the current insurer is normally the correct one to notify, because UK PI is written on a claims-made basis.
Do not delay. The most common cause of an uncovered PI claim is late notification, not the underlying facts.
The notification is a document, not a phone call, and it goes to the insurer through the broker. The broker knows the insurer's preferred format, can translate the firm's factual position into the language the claims team will recognise, and becomes the ongoing channel for insurer questions — freeing the firm to keep working.
A first notification typically includes the date the firm became aware, the facts known so far framed narrowly and factually, the potentially affected client or matter, an initial view of exposure expressed as a range rather than a firm number, and the current stage of any dispute. Speculation on liability is unwise in a notification document; the aim is to record what is known, not to argue the case.
A notification is protective. Once made, it triggers the insurer's obligation to consider the matter under the policy in force at the date of notification, regardless of whether a claim later materialises. If nothing further happens, the notification sits on file. If a claim emerges two years later, the notification has already locked in cover under the current policy, and later renewals cannot exclude it.
Acknowledgement usually arrives within a few working days. The insurer records the notification, opens a file and assigns a reference. From there, one of two paths tends to open. A "watching brief" is where the insurer records the matter and asks to be kept informed but does not appoint external solicitors — common for circumstances that may not develop. Active handling is where the insurer appoints a claims handler and, often, a defence panel firm. Panel firm costs are met by the insurer, and their role is to advise the firm and defend the position.
Some notifications sit on a watching brief for months or years and never move. Others escalate quickly. The firm's job in this phase is to answer the insurer's questions factually and keep the file in order.
Assemble the affected file or files in chronological order. Preserve the original electronic file and work from a copy. Include correspondence, accounts entries, file notes, completed forms, Companies House and Land Registry records where relevant, and any professional advice sought at the time. A file that a defence panel firm can open and understand quickly is worth days of costs later.
Prepare a factual chronology — dates, decisions, communications — that a solicitor unfamiliar with the file can read. Do not speculate on liability in the chronology; once discussions of liability start, they should go through counsel or the panel firm to attract privilege.
Preserve emails on the original server. Do not print them, do not export them into a folder marked "claim", and do not delete anything, ever. Deletion during a live notification can look like evidence destruction, whether or not it was intended that way.
If the insurer has not appointed a panel firm and the firm feels it needs advice, take independent advice at the firm's expense in the short term. Costs are normally reimbursed once the panel firm is appointed, but timing rules vary by policy.
Notification to the insurer is separate from notification to the regulator; one does not substitute for the other.
Solicitors (SRA): a material breach of the SRA Standards and Regulations must be reported under the SRA Code. Rule 5 imposes a duty to notify the client where there has been an act or omission that may give rise to a claim, and that duty is separate from the insurer notification.
Accountants (ICAEW, ACCA, CIOT, ATT): each body's rulebook contains reporting obligations. ICAEW members should consult the disciplinary bye-laws; ACCA members the Code of Ethics and Conduct; CIOT and ATT members their respective rules. Thresholds differ.
RICS surveyors: the RICS Rules of Conduct impose a complaints-handling and notification framework. Consult the firm's Complaints Handling Procedure and consider whether a formal RICS notification is required.
Architects (ARB): the Architects Code sets out the standards expected. Matters that may give rise to a fitness-to-practise investigation should be considered against the Code's notification thresholds.
IFAs and financial advisers (FCA): SUP 15.3.1R requires notification to the FCA of anything of which the FCA would reasonably expect notice, including material claims. The trigger is knowledge of the matter, not receipt of a formal claim.
These regulator obligations sit with the firm's compliance function, not the broker.
By the second half of the first month, the shape of the matter is usually becoming clearer.
Communication with the claimant should, once a panel firm is appointed, go through the panel firm. Where the notification is on a watching brief, any substantive response should be reviewed by the broker before it goes out. The temptation to explain, apologise or reassure should be resisted; an apology can be read as an admission of fact even where it is not intended as one.
Communication with the client — assuming the client and the claimant are the same person — needs planning rather than reacting. Keep the client informed factually, do not commit to outcomes and do not offer remedies. If the file is continuing, designate a point person on the matter who is not the fee-earner whose work is under scrutiny. Continue day-to-day work; the notification is not a bar on serving clients.
Log everything. A well-maintained log makes the difference between a smooth defence and a scramble to reconstruct events months later.
Do not admit liability, in writing or orally. Most PI policies contain a "no admissions" clause and a breach can, in principle, prejudice cover.
Do not make ex-gratia payments — refunds of fees, goodwill payments, credits against future work — without express insurer approval. An ex-gratia payment made to keep a client happy is often the single fact that voids the notification.
Do not delete or alter file content. If a file needs cleaning up as part of ordinary practice, stop, until the matter is closed.
Do not brief the press, post on social media or discuss the matter publicly without broker and insurer sign-off.
Do not settle, in principle or in writing, without formal insurer approval. Settlement without consent is one of the classic ways to prejudice cover under a claims-made policy.
Do not delay notification in the hope that the matter will disappear. Late notification often converts a covered claim into an uncovered one.
The broker sits between the firm and the insurer for the whole of the first month and beyond. In practice, that means five things: primary channel to the insurer; translation of the firm's factual position into the language the claims team will recognise; management of insurer touchpoints (requests for further information, panel firm confirmation, reserves, retention and limit); escalation if the insurer response is slow; and documentation on the firm's file. A clean paper trail matters at renewal, at future notifications and, occasionally, at disputes between insurers over which policy year responds.
Not notifying because "it's probably nothing". The wording does not have a threshold. If it is a circumstance, notify. If it turns out to be nothing, the notification harms no-one; if it turns out to be something, the notification is what triggers cover.
Waiting for the claimant to write formally. The knowledge trigger runs from the firm's knowledge of the facts, not the arrival of a letter.
Notifying the wrong insurer. If the alleged act was several years ago but the discovery is now, notify the current insurer. UK PI is claims-made; it is the policy in force when the claim is notified, not when the act happened, that responds.
Deleting emails to "tidy the file". This looks like evidence destruction, whether it is or not. Freeze the file the moment a notification is contemplated.
Ex-gratia gestures to keep the client happy. A refund, credit or discount can void cover under the no-admissions and no-settlement provisions. Ask the insurer first, in writing, always.
Apex Insurance Brokers is a named-broker firm authorised by the FCA (firm reference number 724952). Matthew Bartlett is the director with SMF3, SMF16 and SMF17 approvals, and notifications are handled directly by Matt at the earliest opportunity after the firm gets in touch. The firm remains the named point of contact throughout. The broker's role is to prepare the notification, submit it in the insurer's preferred format, manage the insurer's response and keep the firm informed at each stage.
Most UK PI wordings require notification "as soon as practicable" or "as soon as reasonably practicable" after the insured becomes aware of a claim or circumstance. There is no fixed number of days, but the practical expectation is measured in days rather than weeks. Delays that a court might consider unreasonable can prejudice cover.
A claim is a demand for money or a formal allegation of civil liability. A circumstance is an event, act or omission that could reasonably be expected to give rise to a claim in the future, even if no demand has yet been made. Most PI wordings require notification of both.
Yes. The notification obligation is triggered by knowledge of the facts, not by an assessment of the merits. A spurious claim properly notified and successfully defended is a routine outcome; a spurious claim that is not notified can become an uncovered claim if the assessment turns out to have been wrong.
Usually yes, with care. A live matter that must reach a completion, filing deadline or court date normally continues, but the firm should designate a point person on the file who is not the fee-earner whose work is under scrutiny. In some cases the insurer or panel firm will advise on how the file is to be handled.
Notifications form part of the claims-history disclosure at renewal. A single notification is not, on its own, decisive; the pattern, severity and disposition of matters over three to six years is what underwriters typically look at. A late-notified matter is generally worse for renewal than a properly-notified one, because it raises questions about the firm's risk management.
Coverage disputes do arise. If the insurer declines cover or reserves its position, the firm has the right to challenge the decision through the policy's dispute resolution provisions, through the FOS (where eligible), or through the courts. The broker's role in a coverage dispute is to represent the firm's position to the insurer and to escalate where the decision is thought to be wrong.
Apex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Firm reference number 724952.