When a solicitor firm submits its Professional Indemnity Insurance renewal, what do insurers look at?
A professional indemnity renewal submission is more than a form. It’s the first thing an underwriter sees, and how it’s presented shapes their impression of the firm before they’ve read a single word of the detail. Alexandra Henley, professional indemnity specialist at Konsileo, reviews solicitor PII renewal submissions regularly. Her view: the firms that present best don’t just get better terms, they get more insurer interest.
Does the presentation of a solicitor PII renewal submission actually matter?
The first thing an underwriter notices is whether a submission has been completed carefully. A handwritten form that’s messy or hard to read creates an immediate question: if a firm doesn’t pay attention to detail on its own insurance documentation, does that carry through into how it manages client work?
It sounds basic. But first impressions in underwriting are sticky, and a poorly presented solicitor PII renewal submission can colour how the rest of the information is read.
How do work split errors affect a solicitor’s PII renewal terms?
Work split and fee income are among the key rating factors in solicitor PII. Getting them wrong, or leaving them unexplained, directly affects the terms insurers offer.
One common mistake: placing landlord and tenant work under conveyancing on the submission. Conveyancing attracts a higher risk rating. Landlord and tenant work does not. Conflating the two inflates the premium unnecessarily.
Equally, a significant unexplained shift in fee income or work split raises flags. If personal injury work jumped from 15% to 40% of fee income in a year, insurers need to understand why. The answer might be straightforward, a large case that had been running for years finally settled. But without the explanation, underwriters draw their own conclusions, which rarely benefits the firm.
Don’t just submit the numbers. Explain the story behind them.
What do insurers want to see from a solicitor firm that does significant conveyancing work?
Conveyancing consistently drives the highest volume of solicitor PII claims. The main failure points are well established: missed searches and enquiries, missed deadlines, inaccurate documentation, and issues that are spotted but not properly followed through or communicated to clients.
Firms that can demonstrate structured controls around these areas present more favourably. That means file review procedures with genuine oversight, pre- and post-completion checklists, diary systems that flag critical dates, and documented escalation procedures for approaching deadlines. The key word is documented, insurers want to see how controls operate in practice, not just that they exist.
How should a solicitor firm handle claims history in its PII renewal submission?
Claims happen. Underwriters expect them. What distinguishes firms is not whether they’ve had claims, but how they responded.
A firm that reviewed its procedures after a claim, made meaningful changes, and can evidence that in the submission will be treated more favourably than one that offers a brief explanation and moves on. Being dismissive about what happened, or failing to demonstrate any reflection, signals to underwriters that the same situation could recur.
What does good risk management look like in a solicitor PII renewal submission?
Generic statements don’t work. “All work is supervised” or “we have policies in place” tells an underwriter nothing. This is the section where solicitor firms most consistently miss the opportunity to differentiate themselves.
A strong submission shows how controls operate day to day: structured supervision with named oversight responsibility, regular file reviews with documented outcomes, peer review processes for complex matters, and lessons learned from incidents or near misses.
Cyber and fraud controls are increasingly expected. Insurers look for secure payment verification procedures, multi-factor authentication, and evidence of cyber awareness training, not just a statement that a policy exists.
The firms that attract the most competitive solicitor PII renewal terms are those whose submissions demonstrate a genuine risk management culture, not just a documented one.
Does the quality of a solicitor PII renewal submission still matter in a soft market?
Yes, and meaningfully so. A soft market increases insurer appetite and competition, which creates more flexibility on pricing and coverage terms. But that flexibility isn’t distributed evenly. A submission that raises more questions than it answers won’t generate the same competitive interest as one that gives underwriters genuine confidence in the risk.
The soft market creates an opportunity: solicitor firms that have a strong submission can benefit from both the favourable conditions and the competitive edge it provides. Firms that don’t may still get terms, but not the best ones available.
Alexandra Henley — Professional Indemnity, Konsileo
20th July 2026
