Solicitor Insurance - The 2007 Solicitor Professional Indemnity Insurance Season Has Begun

For the vast majority of people October 1st every year has no particular significance. In fact it’s just another day of the year. For Solicitors and legal professionals in the UK though the date is a little more memorable. October 1st is when (for most) if they haven’t sorted their Professional Indemnity Insurance for the coming year they simply cannot trade.

So with their very livelihood dependant on an insurance policy it seems with summer (yeah right!) now upon us a few signs that the Solicitor Insurance season is under way have started to show.


Solicitor Insurance season is with us reason 1 – Go to your favourite search engine (Google, Yahoo, MSN, ASK etc) and type in Insurance Solicitor (according to Yahoo in May 2007 this was the most typed in phrase or keywords for Solicitor Professional Indemnity or Insurance for Solicitors).

What you’ll find is a whole host of insurance companies all advertising or promoting their facilities for the current season. Insurance brokers and insurance companies alike all fighting to get the best position and get their name ahead of their competitors. A sure sign indeed that the Solicitor PI season is well underway.


Solicitor Insurance season is with us reason 2 – Pick up your favourite legal magazine or visit your favourite legal website (Solicitors Journal, The Lawyer, Legal Week, Legal Day etc) and like with the search engines you’ll notice a few changes in the type of advertisement contained within the publication or on the site. These will range from companies you’ve heard of and with a global brand or smaller, independent companies who all ultimately want the same thing – to quote for your forthcoming Solicitor Insurance and hopefully to place your business.


Solicitor Insurance season is with us reason 3 - This applies if you’re actually working for one of the insurance brokers or insurance companies looking to provide Solicitor PI Insurance. You’d have noticed the start of the PI season as there’s every chance you’d have been contacted by magazines in recent months asking if you wanted to advertise your services with them. In fact you may continue to be contacting right up until October 1st with that offer of a last minute deal that is only available until the end of the day and that if you don’t sign up by then you’ll never get that rate again! Like the DFS sale yeah?


The truth is that unless you’re a solicitor the above will have no real relevance or indeed interest to you. And if truth be known even if you are a solicitor there’s still every chance it’s of little interest to you at this precise moment in time. After all with holidays, work, family, flooding, Wimbledon and a million and one other things to occupy your mind and time, insurance (and even your vital solicitor insurance) is only really important when you’re either looking to buy it (so perhaps round about now but maybe not quite yet) or when you’re looking to make a claim.

If neither of these apply to you then thanks for getting this far and have a great summer (if it ever arrives). If you need to make a claim I suggest you contact your current insurance provider. If however you need a quote for your solicitors professional indemnity insurance then pick up your favourite legal magazine, get on the internet and search or maybe, just maybe visit http://www.solicitorpi.com/ and see how they can help you.

The 2007 Solicitor Professional Indemnity Insurance Season Has Begun so Happy Shopping.

Planes, Trains and Auto....Insurance (well Solicitor Insurance actually)

There are many historic dates in history ranging from 14 February for lovers to 25 December for Christians and lovers of buying and receiving presents.


So what about 1 October? And why is October 1st significant when it comes to planes, trains and lawyers?

Well let’s start with the planes as on 1 October in 1881 the American Engineer and aviation pioneer William Edward Boeing was born in Detroit, Michigan. The name Boeing remains one of the most recognizable throughout the aviation world even now over half a century since his death.



So what about the trains then? And why is October 1 such an important date in the railway world? This time we have to go back to just October 1st 1964 which is when the world’s first high speed railway, the Tokaido Shinkansen (or the Japanese Bullet train), opened between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka. By it’s 40th anniversary in 2004 over 4.16 billion passengers had traveled on the Tokaido route and it today remains the world’s most heavily traveled railway route.





So that brings us onto modern day living and the significance of the date of October 1st on lawyers and solicitors.

Well for UK solicitors and legal professionals the date may not have the same global impact as Boeing or the Bullet Train but October 1st still remains a significant date due to changes in the year 2000 when the Law Society opened the way for Solicitors Professional Indemnity Insurance to be sold via the Commercial Insurance market when the Solicitor Indemnity Fund (SIF) ended.

This change in the legal profession meant that for the vast majority of UK solicitors the date of October 1st has become surnonimous with their Solicitor Professional Indemnity Insurance renewal.

Since 2000 we’ve seen:

Solicitor fee income increasing by on average 7% per year

Solicitor PI claims increasing by around 5% per year

Premium income falling with 2006 showing a fall of around 10% from £234 million to £211 million

The compulsory limit of cover for solicitors doubling to £2 million from £1 million


So with more fee income, more claims and more cover you might expect premiums to rise but the trend has been for solicitors insurance to fall. For solicitors this of course is great news and no doubt 2007 will once again mean more insurance providers fighting for a slice of the solicitors insurance PI.


For most of us this means very little but for solicitors, lawyers and UK legal professionals this means that in order to continue doing business they have to make sure their firms Solicitor Insurance is in place and renewed by October 1st.

Business Insurance and specifically Professional Indemnity Insurance for Solicitors is a highly competitive market so firms such as Northern Counties Insurance Brokers (The UK’s Solicitor Insurance Brokers) have set up facilities aimed at making the purchase of Solicitor Insurance as simple as possible.

With online quote facilities, SMS quote request facilities and above all a fast, friendly and reliable service at hard to beat Solicitor Insurance premiums it has never been easier for UK Solicitors to see how much they can save.

For further information on Solicitor Insurance visit http://www.solicitorpi.com/

Solicitor Insurance - 4 Secrets to a Happier October 1st - Part 4

As a solicitor, lawyer or someone responsible to sorting out Solicitor Insurance you’ll know the importance of October 1st in the calendar as it’s the date in which you need Solicitors Professional Indemnity Insurance in force to continue practicing.

With this date firmly in mind you’ll therefore appreciate the importance of getting your solicitor insurance sorted well in advance so you can relax in the knowledge that it’s sorted and out of the way (for another year at least).

This fourth and final secret to getting the best deal on your solicitors insurance is another that at first glance may not seem right but in order to get the best value for money it is one you may want to consider.

Secret number 4 is therefore don’t assume the cheapest premium is the best. Don’t get me wrong getting a good premium (and saving money on your solicitor insurance) is what we’re all looking for but a really cheap premium without a number of other factors is probably cheap for a reason.

Some things you may want to look for in addition to a competitive premium include:

- Have you heard of the insurance broker and/or insurance company?

- Are they local?

- Are they friendly and approachable (remember we all like doing business with people we like and feel we can trust)?

- What is the excess? Make sure the excess is one you agree on and one you can afford and not one just given to you to reduce the premium

- Do they have a good reputation?

- Do they offer you advice or seem to have some understanding of your business and solicitor insurance?

- Do they listen to you and explain things in a way you can understand? The insurance industry is filled with jargon so make sure the company you choose explains things clearly so you know what cover you’ve got, what you have to do in the event of a claim and how they will work for you.


The run up to October 1st can be a stressful time for solicitors as many play the waiting game in the hope that insurance premiums will fall and they can benefit from premium savings.

And whether you and your firm falls into this camp or the other type of firm who prefers to get their solicitor professional indemnity insurance sorted in good time you have nothing to fear.

If you follow any of these secrets to getting the best deal on your solicitor insurance then the chances are your insurance dealings will be easier, the time you save can be put to better use elsewhere and the premiums you pay will be less than ever before.

For further information on Solicitor Insurance visit www.solicitorpi.com or www.northerncounties.com/solicitors-insurance.php

Solicitor Insurance - 4 Secrets to a Happier October 1st - Part 3

Pinch punch first day of the month, no returns. Well for solicitors and lawyers looking for Solicitor Insurance on October 1st each year (the date when most policies are due for renewal) the Solicitors Insurance season often brings with it a fight between various insurance brokers and insurance companies fighting for a slice of the Solicitor Insurance PI (well the Professional Indemnity Insurance PI anyway).

One of the UK’s Leading Solicitor Insurance Brokers has however produced 4 Secrets that if followed could mean solicitors and legal firms can benefit from saving time, saving money and not having to deal with any pinches or punches – and no returns!

This article looks at the third secret in a series of 4 which solicitors looking for the best deal on their Solicitor Insurance should read. Here goes:

Secrets 1 and 2 focused on being honest regarding price and making sure you use experts to provide your Solicitor Professional Indemnity Insurance. Secret number 3 though actually looks at something you can do to make sure you find the right insurance provider and ultimately the right policy for the right price.

The third secret is to making sure you get the best deal and service is to ask questions. So many solicitors, lawyers and people in the legal profession ring around looking for solicitor insurance and spend the entire conversation answering questions. Secret 3 is therefore to ask questions to find out if the insurance provider you are speaking to not only offers you the right cover and premiums but also the right level of customer service.

Types of question you might want to ask are:

- In the event of a claim what will they do to help you and to ensure your claim is settled as quickly and as favourably as possible?

- Do they just give you a telephone number and leave you to it or do they offer help when you most need it?

- Are they experienced?

- How long have they been trading?

- If it’s a Broker, which Insurance companies do they use?

- Again, if they are Insurance Brokers are they independent? That is, do they have access to numerous policies and insurance companies or are they tied into just one?

By getting answers to these questions you can then a make a decision on whether you would like to deal with them (and whether you trust them to act on your behalf). We all prefer to do business with people and firms we trust and like so ask question and make sure you and your firm gets the best deal and service possible when buying your Solicitor Insurance.

Solicitor Insurance - 4 Secrets to a Happier October 1st - Part 2

For lawyers, solicitors and legal professionals the date of October 1st is perhaps more memorable than for most as it’s the date in which their Solicitors Insurance and Professional Indemnity Insurance is due for renewal.

And as people in the legal trade are extremely busy people one of the UK’s Leading Solicitor Insurance Brokers have produced 4 Secrets for firms looking for Solicitor Insurance. Secrets that when used can save solicitors and lawyers time and money on their Solicitor Professional Indemnity Insurance.

This article looks at Secret number 2 which is based around making sure you use a specialist or expert to sort out your firms insurance. Here goes:

Secret number 2 to getting the best deal on your Solicitor Insurance really is common sense but you’d be amazed how many law firms and solicitors fail to make sure it happens as they are just focusing on the price.

The second secret for a happier October 1st is therefore make sure you use an insurance broker or insurance company who understands the Solicitor Insurance market and who understands your needs.

You can establish this in a number of different ways including:

- What type of questions do they ask?

- How do they ask them?

- How do they react to what you’re saying?

- Do they enter into a conversion about your business? (it’s good if they do because the more they understand you and your needs the better cover, premium and service they might provide)

- Is the conversation very scripted?

- Do they have a website? And if so does even mentioned how you can benefit by using them for your Solicitors Insurance?

Find the answer to these types of question and the chances are the insurance provider you choose for this years Solicitor Insurance may well be able to save you time, save you money and make sure you and your firm gets the Solicitor Professional Indemnity Insurance protection you need.

For further information on Solicitors Insurance visit www.solicitorpi.com or www.lawyerspi.co.uk