This guide is for consultancies plural: firms with employees, associates, subcontracted specialists and a brand on the door. Everything in our solo consultant guide still applies – professional indemnity remains the spine – but scale changes the programme: staff bring legal obligations, associates bring vicarious questions, offices bring premises cover, and directors bring personal exposure. Here's the firm-level view.
What insurance does a consultancy firm need?
Professional indemnity – at firm scale. The firm's PI must cover work delivered by employees and typically by subcontracted associates delivering under your brand – check how the wording treats subcontractors, because "consultants engaged under contracts for services" clauses vary and a gap here is a gap in your flagship product. Limits follow your client base: £1m–£2m for SME-facing firms, £5m+ where corporate and public-sector frameworks demand it. Aggregate-versus-any-one-claim basis starts to matter at firm scale – several simultaneous engagements can hit one policy year.
Employers' liability – legally required. £10m is standard; fines run £2,500/day per uninsured employee. Regular associates working under your direction may count.
Management liability / D&O. Directors of firms face personal exposure – employment disputes, regulatory investigations, shareholder issues. Marsh Commercial's recruitment scheme (a cousin market) bundles £100k D&O as standard; consultancy firms should buy it deliberately rather than incidentally.
Also: cyber at firm scale (client data across many laptops; breach-response costs scale with headcount), office contents and business interruption, key-person thinking for founder-dependent firms, and legal expenses (employment tribunals are the mid-sized firm's most likely legal event).
How much does it cost?
Firm programmes are rated on fee income, headcount, sector mix and claims history rather than advertised floors. Directional anchors: a five-person strategy consultancy might pay £1,000–£3,000/year across PI/EL/office/cyber; framework-facing firms with £5m limits and D&O more. The solo-market entry prices (Markel from £5/month etc.) stop being the relevant benchmark around your second hire.
Comparison of providers
| Provider | Type | Notable features |
|---|---|---|
| Hiscox | Direct insurer | Scales from solo to firm with strong PI wordings; 4.4 Trustpilot |
| Superscript | Digital broker | Monthly-adjustable cover suits headcount that fluctuates with projects; 4.5 Trustpilot |
| Marsh Commercial | Broker | Online SME schemes with bundled cyber/D&O logic; broker service above them |
| Gallagher | Broker | Full-programme broking with in-house claims advocacy for established firms |
| Simply Business | Comparison | Benchmark for small firms before broker economics kick in |
| AXA / Markel Direct | Direct insurers | Household-name and specialist direct routes for straightforward firms |
Reviews and expert ratings
Superscript 4.5/5; Hiscox 4.4; AXA 4.3; Simply Business 4.2; Markel 4.0. Which?/Fairer Finance: not rated. At firm scale, broker claims-handling arrangements matter more than review scores.
Key takeaway
Three firm-level questions decide the programme: does PI cover everyone who delivers under your brand (employees, associates, subs – in writing); are directors personally protected (D&O isn't optional once you have employees and contracts of size); and would the firm survive its largest engagement going wrong (limits against biggest contract, not average). Get those right and the rest is procurement.
Sources
- hiscox.co.uk; gosuperscript.com; marshcommercial.co.uk
- ajg.com/uk (Gallagher programme broking)
- See the solo consultant guide for individual-level pricing floors