Addept Insurance Services has locked in a new five-year capacity agreement with Irwell Insurance Company. The deal expands an arrangement that began in April 2025 and shows continued growth in the UK legal expenses insurance market.
The agreement increases the capacity limits available to Addept under its existing partnership with Irwell. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Legal expenses insurance, known in the market as LEI, covers the cost of legal action from employment disputes, property matters, and personal injury claims. Capacity arrangements determine how much business an MGA or intermediary can underwrite and directly constrain growth.
Richard Finan, managing director of Addept Insurance, said capacity arrangements are central to the firm’s ability to grow.
“Securing strong, quality capacity is a key strategic priority to maintain our pace of growth,” he said. “We will continue to expand our capacity arrangements and partnerships to ensure we have the required resilience to sustain our ambitious business plans.”
Giles Reading, chief executive of Irwell Insurance, said the two firms share expertise in the LEI market. He said the partnership is built on delivering products that offer fair value to policyholders.
The deal comes as Irwell widens its product range. In December 2025, AM Best upgraded Irwell’s long-term issuer credit rating to “bbb+” and affirmed its B++ (Good) financial strength rating. The agency noted a five-year weighted average combined ratio of 84%.
The Addept–Irwell arrangement is part of a wider trend in the MGA market. In February 2026, digital-first MGA Umbrl appointed ARAG to supply legal expenses cover across its household products. The move showed how MGAs are using specialist capacity partners to build out product ranges without developing those lines in-house.
The announcement comes as the UK LEI market faces growing demand from commercial and personal lines clients. Brokers have reported increased interest from small businesses seeking protection against the cost of employment disputes and regulatory investigations.
That demand is reinforced by conditions in the court system. The employment tribunal open caseload in England and Wales stood at 68,192 cases at end-January 2026, up nearly 50% year on year. Total individual claims outstanding now exceed 500,000, while disposals fell by nearly 20% over the same period.
For small businesses without in-house legal resource, those delays translate into prolonged uncertainty and higher defence costs.
The legislative picture is also shifting. The Employment Rights Act 2025 will increase the time limit for employment tribunal claims from three to six months from October 2026.
From January 2027, the qualifying period for unfair dismissal falls from two years to six months and the compensation cap will be removed. Legal experts have warned the combined effect will push claim volumes higher and increase severity of employment-related claims on LEI policies.
The five-year term gives both parties a longer planning horizon than shorter-term arrangements. Capacity uncertainty can disrupt product development and broker relationships. For MGAs building a distribution pipeline, that planning stability has direct commercial value.
