23 August 2011

Another indemnity insurer targets small firms

Smaller law firms are set to have more choice for the professional indemnity insurance this year after Legal & Professional Insurance (LPI) entered into an agreement with broker Marsh to target practices with two and three partners. 

The move follows the recent entry of First Title into the market for smaller practices.

LPI was historically the Solicitors Indemnity Fund and is still handling the fund’s run-off. Last year it was brought into the Liberty Mutual Group and started offering insurance to firms to a small degree.

It is planning to build its share of the one-to-five partner market, with a particular focus on the 2,000 firms that have two or three partners.

LPI managing director George Raubenheimer said LPI offered a “new model” for the market that drew on its “wealth of statistical information” about claims against solicitors. The information gleaned from the online application produces a risk profile for individual firms and predicts their claims experience, “creating a proper rate based on their circumstances”. He said a quote is delivered in two to three days.

He emphasised that it was not about which area of work a firm practises in, although LPI is “much more inclined” to firms that specialise rather than dabble.

“We think we have a model which will enable us to identify good risks. It’s not right to tar all small firms with the same brush. We think it is right that every firm, no matter what size, should have an element of choice in their selection of insurer.”

Mr Raubenheimer added that LPI had factored its potential exposure to the assigned risks pool into its pricing.

Janine Parker, UK head of solicitors’ indemnity insurance at Marsh, said: “Small firms are now able to enjoy a comprehensive insurance provision, rather than enduring the annual scramble for cover that so many face every year.”

All firms in this category applying through the Legal & Professional Insurance website will be able to download a Marsh quotation form for completion.

Tags: professional indemnity insurance