PII renewal: scattergun or ‘sniper’?

I am still waiting for a cuddly toy, two free tickets to the cinema, or, at least, a free pen. I recently received a chilling reminder that it is only 12 weeks to indemnity renewal (and even less now). If you include holiday periods, time set aside to handle audits of various kinds, and then some hours to do some actual paid work, then it is next to nothing.

The process of renewal seems to come round quicker each year, just like Christmas. 

This year we are told the market is healthy, and premiums will be lower. There are certainly lots of brokers sending out plenty of brochures and emails, making telephone calls and even writing the odd letter saying ‘choose me’. 

There must be a simpler way of doing this. How do other professions arrange cover? Do dentists, doctors, surveyors and plumbers all have to complete separate proposal forms for each broker?

Thankfully some brokers invite you to send a copy of the last form you filled in. However, and it may just happen to me, when I do this I often do not hear anything further.

So the average high street firm has the choice of either the scattergun approach of sending out loads of proposal forms or the ‘sniper’, firing off just a few and hoping for the best. The latest development is for firms to offer terms without even asking for a full proposal form. Tempting.

But I suppose my firm is not a good customer as we have a reasonable claims history and do low-risk work. It is not likely that anyone (hopefully) will make much money from us.

To finish, an idea: I have noticed that a car insurer advertises a device you can attach to your car (or maybe the driver) and it will tell you how safe a driver you are. Would that work for us solicitors too? 

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