Designated Professional Body (DPB) Handbooks updated – 1 April 2026

The Designated Professional Body (DPB) Handbooks are updated with effect from 1 April 2026.  These are available on the Institute’s website here.

The DPB Handbooks are relevant to firms in relation to certain financial activities in the UK.  They are issued jointly by the Institute, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS).

The DPB Handbooks consist of: 

1. The DPB (Investment Business) Handbook which sets out how firms can be licenced by the Institute to carry out certain investment business activities which are ‘exempt regulated activities’ without the need to be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). 
2. The DPB (Consumer Credit) Handbook which sets out the arrangements in place which enable Institute firms to provide consumer credit services in the UK without the need for authorisation from the FCA.

The updates to the DPB Handbooks at this time are twofold:

1. DPB (Investment Business) Handbook only:  to update the required levels of professional indemnity insurance (PII) for authorised firms providing permitted Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD) activities, to reflect the requirements of the FCA.  Accordingly, an authorised firm, before it engages in any relevant IDD activities, must have in place PII equivalent to at least:

1. €1,300,380 for each claim; and,
2. in aggregate, the higher of:
   1. €1,924,560; and
   2. an amount equivalent to 10% of annual income (this amount being subject to a maximum of £30 million).

This update to the DPB (Investment Business) Handbook should not affect Institute firms since the Institute’s Public Practice Regulations (6.18) already require firms which conduct IDD activities (either under authorisation from the Institute or from the FCA) to have in place PII at limits prescribed by the FCA.