ACCA's Specific Requirements for Cyber Liability Coverage

Professional indemnity insurance for accountants is required for practising certificate holders with ICAEW, ACCA, CIMA, and most other accountancy bodies. The required cover level varies by body and by the size and type of the practice.

What Is Professional Indemnity Insurance and How Does It Work?

If a client makes a claim against you in 2026 for work you did in 2023, your 2026 policy responds. This has an important practical consequence: your PI cover must be continuous. If you allow your policy to lapse, you lose protection for past work as well as current work. This is why it is critical to renew every year without a break, and why run-off cover (covered below) matters so much when you stop practising. Occurrence-based PI policies are less common in the UK market.

5.2 Excess

With an occurrence policy, the policy that responds to a claim is the one that was in force at the time the work was done, regardless of when the claim is actually made. These policies can provide cover even after they have expired. Run-off cover is an extension to your professional indemnity insurance that continues to protect you from claims arising from past work after you have stopped trading, retired, or closed your business. Because PI policies are typically written on a claims made basis, simply letting your policy lapse when you close your business does not mean you are protected from future claims about past work. A client could bring a claim years after you have ceased trading. Accountants carrying out audit work, insolvency, or investment business typically face higher premium levels due to the elevated risk profile of those activities.

• Report any accident or incident to the insurer within the timeframe specified in the policy document.
• Cooperate fully with the insurer's appointed claims handler or loss adjuster during a claim.
• Do not admit liability at the scene of an accident; let the insurers handle the investigation.
• Obtain a police report for any accident involving injury, significant damage, or a hit-and-run.
• Keep detailed records and photographs of damage, the scene, and other parties involved.

Architects registered with the ARB must hold adequate PI insurance as a condition of their registration. The ARB does not set a specific minimum indemnity limit but expects cover to be proportionate to the nature and scale of work undertaken. PI insurance for IFAs and financial advisers is required by the FCA as a condition of their authorisation.

12. Audit-specific PI considerations

A solicitor in a high-volume conveyancing practice operates in one of the most heavily loaded PI risk categories in the UK market. An architect working on large commercial projects faces fundamentally different exposure to one producing domestic planning applications. The same profession can carry very different premiums depending on the specific risk profile of the individual business. Selecting the lowest available premium without understanding the quality of the cover behind it is one of the most common and costly mistakes professionals make with PI insurance. A policy with a high excess, restrictive exclusions, or poor claims handling can leave you significantly exposed at exactly the moment you need your insurer to perform.

12.3 FRC sanctions

The most accurate and reliable way to understand what PI insurance will cost for your specific business is to speak with an independent broker who has direct access to a wide panel of specialist PI insurers and understands the underwriting criteria each one applies to your profession. Call Artemis on 020 8619 5000 or email info@artemisltd.co.uk for a no-obligation PI insurance quote tailored to your profession and your risk profile. We will give you a real figure based on your actual situation, not a generic estimate. •Your profession and the nature of the work you do •The indemnity limit you require, for example £500,000 versus £5,000,000 •Your excess, which is the amount you contribute to each claim before the insurer pays •Your claims history over the previous five years •The size of individual contracts or projects you undertake •Whether your clients include public sector bodies or large organisations with higher risk profiles •Whether your work has an international element, as some policies exclude non-UK work Choosing the right indemnity limit is one of the most important decisions you will make when taking out a PI policy. Too low and you risk being underinsured when a significant claim is made . The FCA sets minimum indemnity requirements through the FCA Handbook (IPRU-INV rules). The required level of cover depends on the IFA's income and business type. Management consultants, business coaches, HR consultants, training providers, and similar advisory professionals sit outside the regulated professions framework in most cases, but they face very real PI exposure from the advice they provide.

• Choose an appropriate level of cover: Third-Party Only (TPO), Third-Party Fire and Theft (TPFT), or Comprehensive.
• Consider optional add-ons like breakdown cover, legal expenses insurance, or courtesy car provision.
• Review the policy excess amounts (compulsory and voluntary) and ensure they are affordable.
• Check if the policy includes coverage for personal belongings or audio equipment.

A management consultant who recommends a business restructure that leads to significant losses, or an HR consultant whose advice results in an employment tribunal, can face claims that easily exceed the value of their original engagement. Cover starting at £250,000 is usually advisable, rising to £1 million or more for those working with larger organisations. PI insurance for technology businesses covers errors in software, systems design, data management, and technical advice. With the UK cyber security and tech sector growing rapidly, this is an area where claims are increasingly common. Technology PI policies often include elements of cyber liability cover, or the two can be arranged as a combined package.

Indemnity limits of £1 million to £5+ million are common for established technology businesses.

14. The R&D tax advice claim wave

Run-off cover is particularly important for solicitors, accountants, architects, and any professional who has carried significant responsibility over a long period. In regulated professions, run-off requirements are often stipulated by the professional body. The SRA, for example, requires solicitors' practices to maintain run-off cover for a minimum of six years following closure. The cost of run-off cover varies depending on your profession, the level of cover, and the period for which it is required. Your broker should discuss run-off provisions at or before the point of any planned business closure or change in structure.

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Professional indemnity insurance for solicitors in the UK is mandatory under the SRA's Indemnity Insurance Rules. All solicitor practices must hold PI cover with an SRA-approved insurer. The minimum indemnity limit is £3 million for incorporated practices and £2 million bet bonus bets uk for unincorporated practices. Artemis Insurance Brokers has relationships with leading Law Society-panel insurers and has been arranging solicitors PI insurance for over 20 years. We can access the specialist market for high-risk practice areas including conveyancing, litigation, and immigration law. The cheapest policy is rarely the best value.

What to look for with PI cover

The potential financial impact on your client should inform your indemnity limit. 4.What level of excess can you comfortably absorb? A higher excess reduces your premium but means you pay more of each claim yourself. Make sure the excess is genuinely bet betting promotions app affordable without causing financial strain. Artemis Advice: We always recommend erring on the side of a higher indemnity limit rather than a lower one.

Verifiable CPD (minimum 21 units)

The additional annual premium for moving from £500,000 to £1,000,000 of cover is often a few hundred pounds at most. The difference in protection it provides can be the difference between a business surviving a claim and one that does not. This is one of the most important technical distinctions in professional indemnity insurance, and one that many business owners overlook when comparing policies. The vast majority of PI insurance policies in the UK are written on a claims made basis. This means the policy that responds to a claim is the policy that is in force at the time the claim is made against you, not at the time the work was originally carried out. Wide variations exist between policies in terms of what is and is not covered, how claims are handled, and how cooperative the insurer is when you actually need to make a claim.

• For young or inexperienced drivers, consider telematics (black box) policies to potentially reduce premiums.
• Build a No Claims Discount (NCD) by driving claim-free; protect the NCD if the policy offers that option.
• Declare any business use accurately, as using a vehicle for business on a social-only policy invalidates cover.
• Ensure all drivers hold a valid license for the vehicle category and have the insurer's permission to drive.
• Provide accurate annual mileage estimates to the insurer, as significant underestimation can affect claims.
• For classic cars, ensure the policy is specifically designed for classic or vintage vehicles with agreed value.

Focus on the quality of the cover and the reputation of the insurer, not just the premium. Many professionals underestimate their indemnity limit because it seems adequate for their typical project values. But a significant PI claim, particularly one involving lengthy litigation, can generate legal costs alone that run into hundreds of thousands of pounds before any damages are considered. The right indemnity level should reflect your worst-case risk exposure, not your average contract value. UK insurance law (the Insurance Act 2015) requires you to make a fair presentation of your risk to your insurer.

This means disclosing all material facts, including your full claims history, the full range of services you provide, and any circumstances that could give rise to a claim that you are already aware of at the time of application. Failing to do so can result in your insurer declining to pay a claim or voiding your policy entirely.

How to Choose the Right Level of PI Cover

The starting point is your regulatory requirement, if you have one. Solicitors must comply with SRA minimum limits. For professions with no regulatory floor, consider the following questions. 1.What is the maximum fee value of any single contract or project you undertake? Your indemnity limit should typically be a multiple of this, not equal to it, because legal costs alone can easily exceed the value of the contract in dispute.

9.1 The IFA minimum

2.What do your clients contractually require? Check your standard client contracts and any frameworks or approved supplier lists you are registered on. Many specify minimum PI limits of £2 million, £3 million, or higher. 3.What is the highest-risk piece of advice or work you provide? Think about the downstream consequences if that advice is wrong. Because PI policies are typically claims made, allowing your policy to lapse even for a brief period can leave you without cover for past work during the gap period. Always renew before your existing policy expires, and if you are changing insurers, ensure there is no gap between the end of the old policy and the start of the new one. Business owners who close their company, retire, or restructure often overlook the need for run-off cover.

• Ensure the policy meets the minimum requirements for any associated finance or leasing agreement.
• If using the vehicle for ride-sharing or delivery services, obtain specific business use coverage.
• For modified vehicles, seek a specialist policy or endorsement that covers the modifications.
• Verify coverage for driving in other countries if planning a trip abroad (may require a Green Card).

A claim can arrive years after the work was completed. Without run-off cover in place, there is no PI policy to respond to it. Professional indemnity insurance protects you financially if a client makes a claim against you because they believe your advice, your work, or your professional services caused them a financial loss.