It is that wonderful time of year for us at GRM where our Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) becomes due for renewal! Oh what joy!
There are plenty of articles and discussions out there on the continual cost increases, reduction in insurance providers, impact of Grenfell, and potential impact of Covid19.
One of best summaries we found was from Rudi Klein in Building Magazine (https://www.building.co.uk/communities/addressing-the-crisis-in-the-professional-indemnity-pi-insurance-market/5104296.article), which accurately sums up the current marketplace and challenges.
Rudi also recommends engaging with insurers as early as possible, and really focus on getting into the detail of your specific services and associated risks.
This is what we did at GRM after our Professional Indemnity Insurance costs doubled to 2.4% of turnover. Of the companies we met Gallagher’s (https://www.ajg.com/uk/) seemed to have more direct contact with the Underwriters that price the policies, and they managed to get us talking directly.
This meant we could discuss the real risks associated with our services, rather than ones they perceived from an Insurance Proposal form. The overall result was a slight reduction in our insurance costs, which in the current climate is a massive win.
Our advice to anyone needing PII is to start discussions with a broker as early as possible and ensure they have direct access to Underwriters. Even then the market changes all the time, so even though you start early don’t expect to know your costs until the 11th hour!