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The origin of the phrase 'hit the ground running' is disputed, with some attributing it to troops dropped into combat zones, others to stowaways jumping from trains as they approached a station, and some believing it comes from the time of the Pony Express, where riders would try and avoid delay by quickly changing mounts.

Even if its origin is unclear, the meaning is unmistakeable. To 'hit the ground running' is to begin at full speed, to make an instant impact; and this was something that Countrywide sought to do upon entering the legal indemnity market back in 1994.

Up against the 'big boys' of the industry, we had to fight hard to establish ourselves as quickly as possible. One of our original underwriting philosophies was to provide excellent service and to be as flexible as possible, by doing whatever we could to find a solution for solicitors. In order to achieve this, we recruited only experienced underwriting specialists, all of whom were capable of handling any legal indemnity case that was put our way. This experience, coupled with market-leading turnaround times, meant our reputation in the legal indemnity industry very quickly grew, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Almost twenty years on, the size of our operation has increased considerably from a handful of specialists, to today's staff-force of over 75. But despite the company's growth, our original philosophy remains the same and is at the core of everything we do.

And while we're still keen on recruiting fully trained underwriters with the necessary experience – indeed, we've recently added a number of new underwriters to our ranks – nowadays, we're also able to provide a comprehensive training and development programme in-house, created and delivered by some of our most senior underwriters. So you can be assured that when you come to us with an enquiry, whoever you deal with will have the essential knowledge and expertise to assist.