Financial Institutions insurance

Bank of England exterior

Operating in a highly litigious and highly regulated environment, the risks facing financial institutions are vast and complex.

So, it is important to partner with an insurance broker with specialist knowledge of your sector and the expertise to secure the right cover for your business.

As one of the UK’s largest practices dedicated to financial institutions, we afford a diverse and experienced team of experts who are devoted to delivering the best possible results; both at renewal and throughout the year.

We’ve spent more than twenty years helping your peers manage their risk. In doing so, we've built up a financial services client list that includes start-ups right the way through to some of the world’s biggest names. Whatever risk you’re facing, we have the resources and the experience to transfer it to the insurance market.

We bring you specialist expertise

Our practice is built around sector specialisms. This means that your Howden team will be fully immersed in your sector. They know what’s going on in your world, what insurer perceptions might be, common challenges faced by your peers and how to resolve them.

As well as insurance professionals, our team of experts also includes lawyers, bankers, senior underwriters and leaders of industry. This mix of talent helps us to bring alternative perspectives and added value intelligence to enhance the service we provide.

The strength to deliver results for you

$1.2bn

premium placed into the Financial Lines market in 2022

30

in-house lawyers and senior claims handlers

645

financial lines experts globally

Tailored cover and advice

Our policies are not standard wordings. They are designed to safeguard against the specific risks your business faces, in the most cost-efficient way.

Bespoke design also means paying for things you need, and nothing you don’t. We will ensure there are no extensions that you don’t need, keeping things streamlined and lean.

two business people discussing on a bright day

Exceptional, personal service

Acting as an in-house insurance team, we’re attentive, available and responsive. For us the relationship is personal, not transactional, so we always go the extra mile to take care of your interests.

Through understanding your business we form a collaborative programme design, with our diverse and experienced team bringing markets to you.

As a multinational, employee-owned business, we are committed to delivering for our clients and each other. Because our people are personally invested in our business, they want clients to have the best possible experience.  

Embedded legal, technical and claims support

Our 30-strong Legal, Technical and Claims team is made up of lawyers and senior claims handlers who deal only with financial service claims, day-in day-out. They are deeply experienced in handling large, complex and high-profile cases. And importantly, they sit on the same floor in the same office as the client service team. This means they are fully embedded into clients’ accounts from the outset.

Our claims specialists are hands-on and involved in writing policy wordings and processes, always focused on clarity, speed and efficiency for you.

You’ll have a nominated claims handler who will be on hand to act as your advocate, right from claims notification through negotiations to the payout.

Any learnings from other clients’ claims through the year will be fed back into your renewal strategy, be that in the form of policy wording tweaks or risk management advice.

Data driven approach

We use data to underpin the service we provide you. From our own data suite we can help you make informed decisions about your insurance purchase and achieve better results at your renewal.

For example, we can show you where your risks and claims are coming from and then quantify your exposure to those risks.

We can pre-empt insurer issues and remedy any problems before we go to the market on your behalf.

We can share peer benchmarking data so you can compare limits purchased by other businesses in your sector.

Some of our products for Financial Institutions


Directors and Officers / Management Liability
The right cover can help protect your senior team in the event of a claim. 


Professional Indemnity
Professional indemnity insurance (PI) is there for your business when an employee has been accused of making a mistake for which you are sued or investigated (or both). Our PI cover provides company protection for the costs of defending and liability arising from the claims made against you.

Bankers Blanket Bond / Crime / Fidelity
Protecting against losses arising from the dishonesty of rogue employees is a leading cause of claims. Our bespoke policies avoid the need to explain their motives, a traditional sticking point in investigations and delayer of claims pay-outs.

Cyber insurance
Cyber insurance provides financial protection and the critical first response support required to investigate, control, mitigate and remove cyber security threats.

Employee Benefits
An effective employee benefits programme need not eat all of the HR budget and can be a factor in winning and retaining the best talent.

Credit and Political Risk
Bespoke credit insurance can cover a range of scenarios, from enabling operational capital release and de-risking non-payment to licence cancellation, breach of government contracts and currency inconvertibility.

Special Situations and Structured Solutions
Insurance can finance litigation, both before and after the event (ATE). It can also act as a guarantee of capital release in the event of insolvency.

M&A and Tax Liability
No matter what you are purchasing or selling, insurance can smooth out bumps in the often rocky road to completion. From warranty and indemnity cover to tax and title risks, our specialists will design a policy that mirrors the underlying contracts, for prompt pay-outs.

Climate Risk
If your organisation is planning or involved in ESG initiatives, our Climate Risk and Resilience team can help to de-risk investments and funnel capital where it is needed.

Real Estate / Commercial Office
We can provide all corporate business insurances, from public and employee liability to buildings and contents.