UK: New insurance designed with freelance solicitors in mind

In November 2019, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) changed its regulations to allow solicitors to trade outside of the traditional ‘legal entity’ models.

The SRA uses the term ‘freelance solicitor’ to describe a self-employed solicitor who is:

1. Practising on their own and does not employ anyone else in connection with the services they provide.
2. Practising in their own name (rather than under a trading name or through a service company).
3. Engaged directly by clients with fees payable directly to them without the practice itself being authorised.

But following this path requires solicitors to meet several requirements, including taking out and maintaining “adequate and appropriate” insurance to protect themselves against the professional risks they face.

That’s why Travelers has developed a new professional indemnity insurance product specifically for freelance solicitors – to provide these professionals with an additional option to manage their commercial risk and professional reputations as they develop and grow their businesses. The Travelers team includes many qualified solicitors who bring experience from diverse areas of the law. This has helped inform the development of the product as an additional resource that freelance solicitors can turn to for business protection.

Key features
Much like the range of freelance solicitor practices themselves, this professional indemnity insurance protection is designed to be broad. Available limits for the product range from £250,000 to £2 million. The cover can be offered on an aggregate or any-one-claim basis, with defence costs considered as either part of, or in addition to, the limit. It carries a minimum excess amount per policy of £500 for every claim. The cover is currently provided only for legal services undertaken within England and Wales by the freelance solicitor. And the policy wording, although more restrictive than the SRA’s minimum terms and conditions, has been based on this wording.

“Travelers has a long history of insuring solicitors’ professional indemnity risks and we want to provide options to help protect not only law firms of all sizes, but also individual solicitors with freelance practices,” said James Graham, Director Professional Indemnity for Travelers Europe. “As the legal sector evolves, our insurance solutions need to evolve with it.”

For additional information about Travelers Freelance Solicitors Professional Indemnity Insurance, contact your local Travelers representative, visit travelers.co.uk/solicitors or call 0700 22 22 999.

Travelers Insurance Company Limited
Travelers Insurance Company Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by
the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
Registered office: One Creechurch Place, London, EC3A 5AF. Registered in England 01034343

The information provided in this document is for general information purposes only. It does not constitute
legal or professional advice nor a recommendation to any individual or business of any product or service.
Insurance coverage is governed by the actual terms and conditions of insurance as set out in the policy
documentation and not by any of the information in this document.