Angling for success in PI’s more challenging waters

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From beekeepers to mining contractors, HSUA is finding profitable opportunities in niche sectors with growing demand and higher limit requirements

EXPERIENCED FLY FISHERS look for pockets of water where the current moves backwards – eddies that swirl against the main flow of the river. If professional indemnity (PI) insurance were a river, High Street Underwriting Agency (HSUA) might be one of its most skilled anglers. As a smaller player in the market, it seeks out emerging trends and niches where it can provide value – and lately, it’s been finding more pockets where it can offer cover. A long period of increasing PI premiums ended in the year to December 2024 with premium rates dropping by around 10% compared to the previous year, according to Finity analysis. This overall reversal comes on the back of more competition as new players are attracted to the market. But this easing is not universal across all sectors for PI. Indeed, many insurers remain cautious about certain subsectors and activities – providing pockets of higher-premium counterflow for HSUA to explore.

Over two decades ago, Alan and Jan Whittle saw that the insurance industry lacked a personal touch. To fix this, they founded High Street Underwriting Agency (HSUA). Today, HSUA is a thriving team of over 45 people, led by their son, CEO Blair Whittle. HSUA’s mission has always been to help small businesses dream big. It does this by empowering brokers to go the extra mile for their clients, ensuring they can operate with peace of mind. HSUA’s in-house tech team rapidly implements new innovations and automation, staying ahead of emerging trends and allowing brokers to build genuine relationships with their clients. HSUA continues to grow, with its family ties, innovation and exceptional customer service remaining at the core of everything it does.

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Overall premium rates take a dip

Estimated premium rate change for PI (year ending 31 Dec)

2018

“High Street’s ability to build meaningful relationships with our London counterparts and brokers allows us to have potential options for the needier sectors”

Katie Stranaghan, High Street Underwriting Agency

management, HR programs, leadership training – we are seeing an increase in these risks,” says Katie Stranaghan, portfolio manager for financial lines and accident and health at HSUA. “I believe that companies are becoming more focused on training and risk management, increasing the need for third-party organisations to provide training seminars ranging from employees to leadership programs.” Other similar fields seeing more demand are marketing researchers and agents, occupational health and safety consultants, tutors and event coordinators, according to Stranaghan. Within the engineering sector, specific roles seeking out PI coverage at HSUA include electrical engineers, mining maintenance planners, mechanical engineers and HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) engineers.

Many of these areas have long experienced acute availability pressures – alongside professions such as insurance brokers, real estate agents and financial planners. Each subsector has its own reasons why coverage has been difficult to find, ranging from high levels of claims to more regulation. For manufacturing, fintechs, retail and construction, a tough economic environment and weak consumer sentiment may be the root cause. Sometimes the risk is simply too complex, or the insurer just doesn’t have enough confidence to confidently underwrite and price it. “High Street’s ability to build meaningful relationships with our London counterparts and brokers allows us to have potential options for the needier sectors by utilising their market

HSUA has plans to expand its financial lines offerings with an excess layer binder launching soon. The new capacity will allow HSUA to offer $10 million limits, a significant increase from its traditional limit maximum of $5 million. “This means we will have the internal capabilities to quote an excess layer to fill the limit,” says Stranaghan. The excess layer capability will make HSUA a one-stop solution for brokers looking to meet the growing coverage requirements in high-premium areas such as design and construct (D&C) and engineering. “We’re aiming to find cover for brokers who can’t find it locally,” says Stranaghan. Most local markets are constrained when following Lloyd’s capacity for the higher limits that many of these sectors need due to the higher risks involved. “Although they have local terms, they can’t fill the remainder or follow Lloyd’s capacity. Utilising our London markets, we have the capability of doing excess layers on local paper, which gives brokers a solution on filling limits,” Stranaghan explains. Limits are increasing for several areas, especially those sectors that have performed poorly in the past, or newer areas where insurers lack experience.

Aside from larger limits being requested more frequently, HSUA is also seeing newer and more obscure risks coming across the desk.

Who would have thought that beekeepers need PI coverage? It turns out many local councils require beekeepers to have PI insurance if the hives are on council land. Another fauna-related profession that’s been seeking more PI cover recently is equine and bit trainers. “We actually have a few of these on the books of late,” says Stranaghan. “Often, they have a retail shop that tailors in fitting bits or works with other professionals who are requesting [that] … all contractors have adequate cover,” says Stranaghan. Risks that traditionally wouldn’t have been a PI exposure are now needing coverage due to contractual changes. In the mining and civil sector, for example, the worker was typically covered by the employer’s insurance. “But we are seeing their contracts change, with them having to carry their own PI insurance. This adds an additional expense to the insured that historically would have been covered by the employer.”

More demand for PI from certain professions and industries

Published 24 Mar 2025

Higher premiums and excess layers

presence and relationships in the Lloyd’s market for obtaining improved coverage,” says Stranaghan.

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

“We are able to offer quotes and issue documents and certificates of currency all on the same day. This means turnaround times have increased dramatically”

Katie Stranaghan, High Street Underwriting Agency

+5–10%

+10%

+10-15%

+10%

+5%

-10%

Source: APRA NCPD annual analysis reports, Finity analysis

Architects and engineers

Where HSUA is seeing higher demand for PI coverage

Project managers (including mine sites) Electrical engineers Mining maintenance planners Mechanical engineers Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) engineers

Business management HR programs Leadership training Marketing researchers/agents Training consultants Occupational health and safety consultants Tutoring Event coordinators Life coaching

Training and management programs

One example of where demand is rising is for the coverage of training and management programs. “[This includes] business

New areas and new circumstances

Design and construct is one example. “Traditionally, most of our D&C portfolio has sat in that $2 million limit space, but in the last six months or so we have seen the shift to be more evenly split with $5 million limits,” says Stranaghan. Even requests for $10 million limits are becoming more common for D&C. “Previously we might have had one or two here and there, but now it’s one or two daily.” When the limit request is eye-wateringly high – a common initial request in the civil sector is for $20 million – HSUA can still offer help. “This [level] can be near impossible if we are looking at a one-person operation with the premiums that it would take to find that limit. Often, we can ask the broker to push back on the client to have a conversation on having the limit reduced,” says Stranaghan. “Sometimes they are successful, especially if they are in a niche area.”

anticipates more growth in the area. Stranaghan says the growth will allow HSUA to continue to develop new products while still providing top-level service. Focusing on high-premium areas that can stump brokers and insurers is a canny strategy – HSUA will be able to reap higher rewards while providing specialist cover to parts of the market that need it most. While there is more competition in the PI space than a few years ago, Stranaghan says the point of difference with HSUA is its emphasis on providing full and quality cover with a quick turnaround. “The challenge we see in this higher-limit space is that while cheaper alternatives can be found elsewhere, they lack adequate cover.” After all, as any experienced broker (or angler) knows, a cheap solution that falls short of the mark won’t hook a fish.

Online quoting system for PI

HSUA has recently made it easier for brokers to access PI cover on their own by making it available on the HSUA online quoting system similar to its liability products portal. “We are able to offer quotes, issue documents and certificates of currency all on the same day. This means turnaround times have increased dramatically.” With the ability to submit endorsements and cancellations themselves, Stranaghan says brokers are full of praise, calling the new online availability a “game changer”. The financial lines team at HSUA is expanding as the firm

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