Folgate Underwriting Agency Limited (FUAL) has appointed market practitioner Paul Freeman (pictured) as chief underwriting officer – professional indemnity.
Freeman will lead FUAL’s professional indemnity (PI) team and head up the new Financial Advisers & Mortgage Brokers offering, which the firm has identified as a key plank in its growth and expansion strategy.
He brings more than three decades of PI experience across both claims and underwriting, including a tenure as chair of the Professional Indemnity Forum (PIF), the International Underwriting Association’s discussion and education group for the London PI market.
Freeman joins from Liberty, where he spent 17 years in the PI team. Having established Liberty’s primary IFA and mortgage broker book in 2009, he most recently served as PI underwriting manager – SME and mid‑market, overseeing the growth and development of the underwriting team across London, Bristol and Manchester. His remit extended beyond financial adviser risks to a broad range of traditional professions.
His arrival follows the late‑2025 appointments of Mathew Harvey and Debbie Farman into FUAL’s PI unit and comes amid a period of heightened activity among PI‑focused MGAs in London, with new entrants and expanded binders adding capacity and competition in a line that has swung from a hard‑rating environment to materially softer conditions.
FUAL said Freeman’s sector expertise and broker relationships will be central to building out the new advisory‑sector proposition and developing the wider PI portfolio.
Freeman steps into the role against a significantly different PI backdrop from the hard market seen between 2019 and 2022. Aon’s UK insurance market overview for the first quarter of 2025 described the PI market as “soft” across both major multinational and corporate / mid‑market buyers, with average rate movements ranging from minus 5% to minus 15% for larger insureds and minus 10% to minus 20% for mid‑market clients, driven by increased insurer competition and plentiful capacity.
Market commentary at the end of 2025 pointed to what has been described as the strongest softening phase in nearly a decade, with more underwriters chasing a largely static pool of clients and offering higher limits, broader wordings and more bespoke endorsements for well‑managed risks. London‑based specialists also report increased appetite among insurers and MGAs for professions that had been heavily rationed during the hard market, although capacity remains more selective where claim experience is challenging.
Alongside the more benign rating environment, regulatory expectations around conduct and advice standards have sharpened. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) continues to emphasise the role of PI cover in protecting consumers and limiting calls on the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, and reminds regulated firms that they must maintain appropriate professional indemnity insurance and notify the regulator if cover is withdrawn or significantly restricted.
For MGAs targeting advisory‑sector PI, that mix of easier capacity, softer pricing and tougher regulatory scrutiny places a premium on product design, underwriting discipline and claims handling.
FUAL’s new Financial Advisers & Mortgage Brokers product has been developed to respond to the evolving risk and regulatory landscape facing advice‑led businesses.
The advisory market itself is in flux. Research cited by Primis in mid‑2025 indicated that 95% of mortgage and financial advisers had seen a sharp increase in protection product sales, with life insurance, income protection and critical illness cover leading the trend in the post‑pandemic years. This growth in advisory activity increases both the volume and complexity of client interactions and, by extension, the potential for coverage disputes and negligence allegations if recommendations are later challenged.
Mortgage and financial advice firms are also facing higher regulatory and levy costs. The FCA’s funding consultation for 2024/25 proposed a £23 million levy for mortgage advisers and £38.1 million for general insurance intermediaries, underscoring the cost of oversight for intermediaries and highlighting the importance of maintaining robust risk management and complaint‑handling frameworks.
Ian Russell, chief executive officer at FUAL, said Freeman’s hire would strengthen the MGA’s position in a competitive PI market.
“[Freeman] is a highly respected underwriter, recognised as best‑in‑class within the financial advisers and mortgage brokers marketplace, and brings significant experience across the general professions sector," Russell said. "With his leadership qualities, Paul will play a pivotal role in shaping and expanding our portfolio in the years ahead, ensuring we continue to build a proposition anchored in expertise, discipline, and strong broker relationships.”
Meanwhile, Freeman said he was joining at an important moment for both the business and the wider PI sector.
“The business has built a strong reputation for underwriting discipline and performance. The opportunity to lead the PI team as we launch our new Financial Advisers and Mortgage Brokers product presents an exciting opportunity to build something truly market‑leading. I can’t wait to get started and help drive the next chapter of Folgate’s growth," he said.
