Reviewed by Matthew Bartlett, Director · Last reviewed 8 July 2026
A specialist professional indemnity broker for architects places cover that satisfies ARB Standard 8 and Chapter 8 of the Architects Code, holds up against a Building Safety Act 2022 exposure, and treats fire safety, cladding and higher-risk buildings as the market treats them rather than as a generalist assumes them to be. Since 2019 the architects' PI market has been the hardest in a decade to navigate and continues to reward specialist placement over price-shopping.
Architects on the ARB register who describe themselves as architects while carrying out professional work must hold PI cover that is adequate and appropriate under ARB Standard 8 and Chapter 8 of the Architects Code. The wording of the Code is deliberately principles-based: it does not prescribe a fixed monetary limit for every firm but requires cover to be sufficient for the type and scale of work undertaken and to include run-off cover following cessation. Firms in RIBA Chartered Practices are additionally required to comply with the Chartered Practice Criteria.
Section 135 of the Building Safety Act 2022 extended the limitation period for claims under the Defective Premises Act 1972 to 30 years for pre-completion claims and 15 years for post-commencement claims. That reset the run-off calculus for anyone in the design supply chain. A specialist broker understands what that has done to insurer appetite and pricing on higher-risk buildings and cladding-adjacent work.
The wording review starts with fire safety and cladding exclusions. The market's response to Grenfell drove a spectrum of exclusions ranging from full carve-outs to partial write-backs conditional on the type of building. A specialist reads which one has been applied, checks whether it aligns with the projects the firm is actually running, and negotiates where negotiation is available.
The second area is the net contribution clause. Whether the wording responds to a project appointment that includes an NCC, and how it treats the firm's contractual liability for the negligence of others, changes what the policy actually covers when a claim comes through.
The third area is fair presentation. Under section 3 of the Insurance Act 2015 the practice discloses its material circumstances: project mix, higher-risk buildings under the BSA regime, cladding and facade work, historic circumstances, and any regulator or dispute-resolution engagement. A specialist broker structures the submission around what the architects' market prices against.
Ask the broker how the wording treats fire safety, cladding and combustible materials. Ask whether the wording contains any exclusion for higher-risk buildings under the Building Safety Act. Ask what limit of indemnity is adequate for a mid-size residential practice given the extended limitation period under BSA s.135. Ask how the wording responds to a net contribution clause in a project appointment. Ask about the run-off arrangement required by ARB Standard 8 and how the market prices it.
A broker who treats these as difficult questions is not the right broker for an architects' practice in the current market. A specialist can talk about all five without notice.
Apex is a named-broker firm. A director-level broker owns the placement, reads the wording, structures the submission for fair presentation, and represents the practice to the underwriter. Around 95 per cent of our clients renew with us year on year, which is our internal measure of whether the model works.
We are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (firm reference number 724952) and hold professional indemnity cover in line with MIPRU 3. We place architects' PI across Lloyd's syndicates and specialist company markets that continue to write the profession, matching limit and excess to the practice's project mix and to the exposure the BSA regime now imposes. Submissions are structured to give a specialist architects' underwriter what they need to price accurately, and terms come back with a written note on any endorsements or exclusions.
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Want a specialist PI broker for architects? A named broker reads every submission and comes back with terms within one working day.