The Government has made the decision to close the state-backed External Wall System (EWS1) Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) Scheme on 30 October 2023.
The Scheme was intended to be a short-term solution for assessors who were unable to purchase suitable professional indemnity insurance to conduct EWS1 surveys. The lack of appropriate insurance cover meant that EWS1 forms were difficult to obtain, and leaseholders in turn could not re-mortgage, buy, or sell their homes without an EWS1 form.
Government action has helped to address this market failure. The relevance of EWS1 forms is declining as wider Government interventions have taken effect that support lenders to use other forms of documentation to support commercial lending decisions. Our research shows insurers are offering professional indemnity insurance for EWS1 work and that assessors can access suitable insurance from the open market at a competitive premium and with a wider scope of coverage. The market has responded to the protection gap the Government was looking to address, which removes the requirement for the Government backed Scheme and so providing it is no longer a good use of public funds.
Policies sold under the Scheme to date will continue to be insured under the original terms. Please note that any pre-existing quotes obtained up to 30 October remain active for their respective 30-day validity period and can be retrieved using the quote reference.
For more information, please contact MGAM at EWS1help@MGAMutual.com.
Get a quote/Manage my quotes
Get a quote for professional indemnity insurance.
Retrieve an existing quote.
Buy Professional indemnity insurance.
Manage my policies
Get your professional indemnity insurance documents.
Make a change to your policies.
Manage my documents
appointment letter.
Upload completed EWS1 forms.
Upload supporting assessment documentation.
Update the status of assessments.
Check my outstanding actions.
Upload your EWS1 Forms and PAS 9980 compliant associated technical report
The EWS1 Form must be based on a survey conducted in accordance with the guidance given in BSI PAS 9980. The PAS 9980 standard allows for the possibility of mitigation as an acceptable investigation outcome.
To validate your insurance, you must provide a copy of your completed EWS1 form, associated technical report, and the professional appointment letter by uploading them to our online platform.
Additional helpful links
- Agreed Form Professional Appointment – The EWS1 Form must be based on a survey conducted in accordance with the guidance given in BSI PAS 9980. The PAS 9980 standard allows for the possibility of mitigation as an acceptable investigation outcome.
To validate your insurance, you must provide a copy of your completed EWS1 form, associated technical report, and the professional appointment letter by uploading them to our online platform. - Agreed Form Professional Appointment (Scotland) – For use where the building to be assessed is in Scotland.
- Template EWS1 Form – An EWS1 Form records in a consistent and universal manner the surveys that have been carried out on the external wall construction of residential buildings.
- PAS 9980:2022 – The British Standards Institution’s Code of Practice for the fire risk appraisal of external wall construction and cladding of existing blocks of flats.
- Postcode / UPRN lookup – check for a valid UPRN (Unique Property Reference Number) using a postcode.
Contact us
MGAM Ltd
Imperial House,
25 North Street,
Bromley,
BR1 1SD.
Call us / our help number is