An organisation that pledges to support the interests of High Street lawyers is in discussions with a major insurance broker in a bid to solve the predicament of high professional indemnity premiums.

The Nationwide Solicitors Alliance is vowing to help law firms prepare for next year’s renewals now and has consulted with PI specialists at London brokers Prime Professions.

The industry has been rocked in recent weeks as the rate of PI premiums has more than doubled for some practices, leaving some faced with closure and many more facing further financial woes in an already difficult market place.

In response, NSA is working with Prime Professions and major PI insurers to develop and implement a risk management programme for their members, improving their insurance profile and allowing them to benefit from group negotiations.

Steve Battarbee, NSA director, says: “Smaller firms face a tough time this year as a result of huge hikes in PI premiums, even for firms with good claims records, costs have been difficult to absorb.

“It seems that no real account is being taken of a firm’s performance and as renewals take place in such a short time scale, there is no time for genuine negotiation. There is little opportunity for firms to demonstrate they have effective risk management in place and they should not be profiled as high risk just because they are small.”

Fellow director, Tracy Thompson, says: “By involving insurers and specialists in risk management, we intend to develop our own quality mark that will be recognised by the insurance industry and by doing so our membership, we will hopefully secure better terms.”

“There is no point waiting until September to do this – firms need to start working on next year’s renewal today.”

www.solicitorsalliance.co.uk/nsa-news/the-professional-indemnity-debate
www.solicitorsalliance.co.uk