Brunel Professional Risks are specialists in the placement of Accountants Professional Indemnity Insurance (‘PII’) and are the Accountancy Age recommended PII partner.

Is your Insurance Broker still broking?

The PII rates for accountancy firms have reached unprecedented lows in the past few years due to availability of capacity in the market, and fierce competition amongst insurers for market share. There is no doubt amongst commentators that the present rates are unsustainable however and a market correction is inevitable. A case of "when" this occurs and not "if" it occurs therefore.

Many insurance brokers have turned to single insurer schemes in order to maximise their income against these falling rates, and to streamline administration & compliance issues for more junior staff. Major Broking houses are no longer approaching the professional indemnity market to source quotations for what they class as small business and instead are relying entirely on their one market tied arrangements. However their criteria for ‘small business’ can be surprisingly high!

With such streamlined one-stop-shop arrangements, there is inevitably a tendency toward ‘one size fits all’, and an approach which is not concerned with the individual nature of a firm. There can also be a stagnation where what has been arranged at inception is merely trotted out again and again at each annual review. This ignores the on-going development of a firm and the changes it is experiencing. The insurance arrangements can become stale - even outdated and inappropriate.

Brunel Professional Risks is different. We do not use one market schemes and broke risks to the wider professional indemnity market. We pride ourselves on understanding our clients, and offering bespoke solutions to their needs. We are proud that our approach has been recognised. The Insurance Age publication conducted a review of broking houses following concerns that independent review of the professional indemnity market was no longer taking place for many accountancy firms. Following this review, Insurance Age awarded Brunel Professional Risks its endorsement as PII provider to the profession.

Cheap rates for all will soon be a thing of the past. Does your broker understand you? Does your broker still understand the market?