How comparison website for solicitors’ indemnity would make system more efficient.

When writing about indemnity renewals previously I said wanted a free pen. I have decided now I want a cuddly toy, like you get from one of those comparison websites. I will not get one because as far as I know there is no comparison website for solicitors’ indemnity. There should be.

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This information is very helpful, and the guides are very useful. I recommend them highly, and I wished I had looked at them earlier. It is interesting how many insurers there are and how many have exclusive access by one broker. Gone are the days of brokers doing the legwork and contacting lots of insurers for you. For months we have been bombarded with emails, letters and phone calls from brokers offering special deals, expert help and the rest. I suspect the flow of communications will stop in the next few weeks.

I went through my emails to work out how many proposal forms I have sent out. I reckon for every 10 forms there have been, for six you never get any response, with probably two companies providing quotes.  I would think our firm is fairly average in size and insurability. If anything, our work is mainly low-risk. If a potential client comes to the door with a back-to-back transaction, an entertainment contract in the US, or a class action the staff have orders to beat them off with a sharp stick.

This process is so wasteful for solicitors. It must be wasteful for the industry, let alone for us. Each company has got its own form. Each asks different questions, and they do not seem to be interested in anything apart from what was paid last year and the claims history.

So perhaps next year there can be one proposal form. A comparison website – why not?

 David Pickup is a partner at Aylesbury-based Pickup & Scott

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