The recent collapse of WREN has left a noticeable gap in the professional indemnity landscape for medium and larger sized architect practices. Beyond the immediate questions of cover, it has also highlighted something less frequently discussed but equally important: the value of integrated, non-insurance support services that sit alongside a policy.

WREN was distinctive not simply because it provided insurance, but because it coupled that cover with practical, legally informed support, particularly around contract review and ensuring compliance with policy requirements. For many practices, this reduced risk at source. It also helped avoid the all-too-common scenario where a claim is complicated, or even jeopardised, by contractual terms that fall outside the scope of cover.

In the wake of WREN’s collapse, there is a natural question as to whether such support can be replicated elsewhere. Traditional insurance brokers, by their nature, are not structured to provide legal advice. Their role is to place insurance, not to interrogate the legal and commercial terms of the contracts their clients enter into. As a result, even well-intentioned brokers are limited in the extent to which they can engage with the underlying risk.

This is where a multi-disciplinary model becomes particularly relevant.

Prospect Law, working alongside Prospect Mutual Management and the Architects Insurance Scheme (AIS), operates within a structure that brings together legal, insurance, and risk expertise in a coordinated way. This allows for a more joined-up approach to professional indemnity, one that does not stop at policy placement but extends into how risk is managed in practice.

For AIS members, this means access to legal insight on issues such as contract terms, appointments, and risk allocation – areas that directly affect the operation of their insurance. Importantly, this support is not an add-on in the traditional sense, but part of a broader framework in which legal and insurance considerations are aligned from the outset.

The distinction is subtle but significant. Rather than viewing insurance as a standalone product, the AIS model recognises that the effectiveness of cover is closely linked to the decisions made before a policy is ever called upon. Contractual obligations, liability caps, and scope of services all shape the risk profile that insurers ultimately respond to.

In that context, the ability to draw on legal expertise within the same ecosystem as the insurance scheme is not simply convenient – it is structurally different from what the wider market typically offers.

As the market adjusts following WREN’s exit, it is likely that practices will look more closely at how their insurance arrangements interact with their day-to-day operations. Models that integrate legal and insurance perspectives may not replace what has been lost, but they do point toward a more cohesive way of managing professional risk, one that reflects the realities architects face in practice.

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Prospect is a multi-disciplinary practice with specialist expertise in the energy and environmental sectors with particular experience in the low carbon energy sector. The firm is made up of lawyers, engineers, insurance and risk management specialists, and finance experts.

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