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Law Firms: Professional Indemnity Insurance
On this page: 11+ Partners | 4 - 10 Partners | 2-3 Partners | Sole Practitioners | Licensed Conveyancers | FAQs
Professional Indemnity Insurance for Law Firms with 11+ Partners
We represent over a quarter of the Lawyer UK Top 200 Law firms and as professional indemnity insurance (PII) conditions become more challenging our advice to firms is based around an approach of strategic planning.
It is all about understanding your objectives and future plans so we can explore the options available to your firm. We start planning with you well in advance and will share our knowledge of insurers different risk selection criteria. As you will appreciate seeking the right advice on what and who is suitable for your firm is of paramount importance.
What we do
We can help you by offering:
- Direct access to insurers – we are not tied to dealing with any particular insurer. By negotiating directly with almost all insurers writing solicitor’s professional indemnity insurance, we are in a strong position to achieve our clients' goals.
- Data analytics – our vast pool of data on over 5,000 solicitor firms (including over 30,000 claims) enables us to use an analytical approach to negotiating terms.
- Your firm can be benchmarked against comparable firms allowing us to determine a target premium, carry out claims comparisons, and provide detailed analysis to you.
- Risk management training – we have dedicated risk managers who will work with your in-house risk and compliance team to deliver targeted training. Topics are selected on our knowledge of the profession along with your firm's key risk and training issues.
- Specialist claims team – our legal and technical team provide advice and support regarding overall claims strategy and individual claims management.
Professional Indemnity Insurance for Law Firms with 4-10 Partners
Our Financial and Professional Risk Practice (FINPRO) team is a leading provider of professional indemnity insurance (PII) for firms with 4-10 partners. We are able to negotiate directly with many "A" rated insurers giving our clients choice and the ability to make well informed decisions about their insurance options.
We understand the unique needs of each law firm we work with and do not offer a one size fits all approach. Instead, we engage with many insurers to create a solution designed to match our clients' requirements.
What we do
We can help you by offering:
- Direct access to insurers – we are not tied to dealing with any particular insurer. By negotiating directly with almost all insurers writing solicitor’s professional indemnity insurance, we are in a strong position to achieve our clients' goals
- Data analytics – our vast pool of data on over 5,000 solicitor firms (including over 30,000 claims) enables us to use an analytical approach to negotiating terms. Your firm can be benchmarked against comparable firms to carry out premium or claims comparisons allowing us to provide you with detailed analysis.
- Risk management – we will provide bulletins on topical issues. If there is an area of concern, we can work with you to deliver targeted training, selecting topics based on our knowledge of the profession along with your firm's key risk and training issues.
- Specialist claims team – our legal and technical team provide advice and support regarding overall claims strategy and individual claims management.
Professional Indemnity Insurance for Law Firms with 2-3 Partners
As professional indemnity insurance (PII) becomes a more challenging market, our advice to firms is to engage early with a specialist broker.
Our longstanding scheme with AmTrust offers "A" rated cover for law firms. No work type is off limits and AmTrust have no restrictions on the level of conveyancing a firm carries out.
Our aim is to help you to present a comprehensive picture of your business to insurers, so that you can attract competition which will help you contain your insurance costs.
What we do
We offer:
- Quotes based on your renewal proposal form and claims experience. This information will be examined in detail by our account managers who will give guidance on any additional information to include.
- A dedicated account manager from our Financial and Professional Risk Practice (FINPRO) team to support you throughout the quote process and provide day to day support on everything from succession planning to legal ombudsman complaints.
- Support from our risk management specialists and legal/technical claims advocates to work with you when the unexpected happens.
Sole Practitioner Professional Indemnity Insurance
Over the years we have been able to offer insurance to Sole Practitioner firms and our focus is always on obtaining you a competitive premium, as simply as possible.
What we do
We provide the following benefits:
- "A" rated insurer – our scheme with AmTrust has a flexible underwriting approach and can cater for sole practitioners involved in all work types including those with high levels of conveyancing work
- Experienced team – our team has a wealth of experience in assisting with succession planning, run-off queries, and claims. We are on hand to support you through any potential changes to your business
Professional Indemnity Insurance for Licensed Conveyancers
We have secured exclusive professional indemnity insurance for firms regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers (CLC). Our exclusive scheme is underwritten by leading "A" rated insurers of law firms to ensure we are able to offer a professional indemnity solution to firms of all sizes. Our legal services team is one of the largest and most experienced in the UK and we are committed to providing CLC regulated firms with competitive professional indemnity protection.
What we do
We offer you:
- Exclusive and tailored professional indemnity insurance solutions for Licensed Conveyancers
- Advise on deals for you, allowing you to make well informed decisions
- A dedicated client team of over 40 legal insurance specialists
- Local presence delivered through our UK regional offices
- Global reach delivered across over 130 countries
- In-depth insight and thought leadership developed for the legal sector.
FAQs
What is professional indemnity insurance?
Professional indemnity insurance is a form of liability cover, giving you protection in the event of claims by a third party for professional negligence. This will cover things such as design, advice and specifications, and differs from product liability in that it covers claims arising from the provision of professional services rather than the sale of physical products. As well as negligence, claims could include error, unintentional breach of intellectual property rights and loss of documents or data. It covers damages and the legal fees and costs incurred in the defence of a claim.
Who should purchase cover?
Professional indemnity cover should be purchased by anyone providing professional advice or services, from traditional professions such as lawyers and architects, to more recently emerged professions like IT and management consultants. Sometimes it will be a requirement to have professional indemnity insurance. This could be the case where you work in a regulated profession, or a minimum level of cover could be stipulated in a contract, for example joint contracts tribunal (JCT) construction contracts.
How do I work out how much cover I need?
This depends on a number of factors, including the type of work you do, the risk that someone will take legal action against you, the potential size of a claim, and any requirements stipulated by a contract or professional body. Three times annual fee income is a good starting point, but also considers the worst case scenario and the likelihood of it happening.
You also need to think about how long you need cover for. Professional indemnity insurance is written on a 'claims made' basis, so while it is in force it will cover you for claims made during the policy period rather than just covering the services you provide in that period. As claims can occur long after you provide the service, you should keep cover in place for several years: typically six, although some contracts specify up to twelve.
What pitfalls could catch me out?
It is essential to disclose all material information otherwise claims could be declined. Buyers must complete a proposal form, which becomes part of the policy contract. These forms are designed to capture all the relevant information but, if you feel an important part of your professional service has not been disclosed, speak to your insurer or broker. Whoever is completing the form should check with all senior executives that what is on the form is correct to their knowledge.
Consideration should also be given to retroactive cover. When you take out PI cover for the first time you may be able to buy retroactive cover to give protection for future claims that arise from professional services performed prior to the inception of your first policy. If organisations are established and have not bought cover before, they must consider existing exposures and whether they need retroactive cover back to when they started trading. There is also a claims disclosure clause that must be carefully observed. The company must disclose any potential claims, or circumstances that may give rise to a claim, to insurers within a specified timeframe. In some policies this is worded as 'immediately'. In other policies the notification requirement is 'as soon as is practicable', which allows the policyholder a far higher degree of latitude.
What are the implications of getting it wrong?
Getting it wrong can be hugely expensive. Failing to disclose material information could mean a claim is declined. Likewise, if you do not take out sufficient cover you could find yourself having to meet the additional costs. Organisations also need to think about the damage to their reputation when a claim is made. They need to establish a plan as to how to minimise the damage, and put in place protocols with the insurer to ensure claims are handled in a timely and efficient manner.