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ARB 4
ARB publishes updated
guidance on professional
indemnity insurance (PII)
Guidance has been updated to address concerns about recent changes
in the insurance market that particularly impact architects.

ARB has published updated guidance on
professional indemnity insurance (PII).

This sets out the insurance arrangements
architects need in order to remain compliant
with the Architects Code of Conduct.

The updated guidance follows a consultation
earlier this year, when draft changes were
developed by ARB based on feedback
from architects and insurers. The changes
address the issues currently faced by the
UK’s architects in securing the insurance
they need to protect themselves, their clients
and the people who live in and use their
buildings. All architects are expected to have adequate
insurance arrangements in place. However,
because of the challenges the built
environment faces following the Grenfell
Tower disaster and subsequent cladding
crisis, combined with global economic
factors, access to PII has become more
difficult for architects.

Alan Kershaw, Chair of the Architects
Registration Board, said:
“It was no longer tenable to require architects
to hold insurance they simply could not
obtain. Our updated guidance recognises
that there are structural issues with the global
insurance market that go beyond anything
ARB can resolve on its own. But the changes
we have made mean architects should find
it easier to get compliant cover that still
provides protection for consumers and the
public.” ARB’s updated guidance has been informed
by the feedback from over 300 consultation
respondents. It is important that architects
are aware of the updated guidance
requirements and comply with them. The
updated guidance means that:
It will remain the case that architects should
have adequate insurance before undertaking
any new work.

Coverage for certain types of claims –
including fire-safety and cladding – can be
held on an aggregate basis, and limited to
covering direct losses.

It will not be a matter of misconduct if an
architect cannot acquire retrospective
insurance to cover historic liabilities, because
of new exclusions applied to their policy
No architect should accept a minimum level
of cover below £250,000
News statement: ARB Retention Fee 2023
In 2022 ARB embarked upon an ambitious
new five-year strategy to improve the way
it regulates. Research and feedback from
architects has informed a major programme
of work to modernise the initial education
and training of architects. ARB is also
transforming the way architects access
its services online, and developing a new
proportionate CPD model.

One year into its corporate strategy, strong
progress is being made. ARB remains
committed to working with the profession to
deliver the essential improvements detailed
in the strategy. To help fund this continued
work, the retention fee for 2023 has been set
at £179. Architects will be able to pay the fee
from Monday 24 October 2022.

Alan Kershaw, Chair of the ARB Board,
said: “To set this year’s fee the Board has had
to balance the need for vital investment in
ARB’s strategy with rising costs and economic
challenges that are affecting every business
and every household in the UK. ARB is a
small and efficient organisation, with fewer
than 50 full time staff. We understand that
any increase will be unwelcome at this time
of increases in cost of living. ARB’s retention
fee remains one of the lowest amongst UK
professional regulators.”
Stephen McCusker, ARB Board Member,
said: “Like many architects on the UK register, I
have run a small architectural practice and
am ever-mindful of the challenges
involved. In setting the 2023 fee, the Board
has considered the cost of living increases
faced by everyone in the country alongside
the need to modernise ARB. The objectives in
ARB’s strategy remain crucial. I’m especially
keen that ARB continues its work to update
an educational model that is over 50 years
old with a new model that could encourage
innovation and improve access to the
profession.” The retention fee is set annually by the ARB
Board based on ARB’s strategic objectives
and annual business plan. As ARB continues
to deliver its strategy, the Board will
endeavour to keep the retention fee as low
as possible. ARB is planning the upgrade to
its information systems carefully with the
aim that future years will not require the
same scale of increased investment in IT
transformation.




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