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How to remain compliant when obtaining legal indemnity quotes

There is still a lot of confusion over the practical applications of the Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD), and we’re regularly asked the same question:

Do I need to get multiple quotes?

No, you don’t.

The whole emphasis of the IDD is for firms to shift focus away from price and towards customers being better informed, providing products which meet their demands and needs, e.g. comprehensive policy cover and excellent all-round value for money. There’s nothing that says solicitors need to obtain multiple quotes.

The CLC and the SRA have each issued guidelines and neither say that several quotes must be sought. 

The CLC acknowledges how few providers there are in the legal indemnity market and so recognises that quotes may be obtained from a single company; while the SRA guidance highlights that the IDD requires that:

• all insurance products must be consistent with clients’ demands and needs
• if a firm advises on a certain product, they must provide “a personalised recommendation explaining why”, ensuring the clients demands and needs are identified, and that the product matches those
• firms should review their insurance provider(s) periodically to ensure they’re still suitable for their target market. 

The focus is very much on making “sure that the client is given objective and relevant information about a policy in good time prior to the conclusion of the insurance policy”.

What does that mean in practice?

It means that very little has changed. If, previously, you only obtained one quote, then you can carry on as before.

If you were already in the habit of obtaining more than one legal indemnity quote, then quite simply, carry on. Not unsurprisingly, we’d suggest that one of those quotes should be from Countrywide, and for the following reasons:

• The most extensive policy cover with noticeably less exclusions than other similar policies
• Unrivalled service standards, e.g. if you call us, emailed confirmation of your quote will often arrive before you’ve put the phone down!
• Direct access to the largest team of underwriters in the market
• Our IPID has drawn praise from different quarters and reflects the style of our plain English policies, where clarity is our watchword
• Our quotation system, Elite, offers easily the most comprehensive and flexible online service available
• Extremely competitive premiums including those bespoke to an individual risk
• All policies are insured by an ‘A’ rated insurer, Liberty Legal Indemnities, which is UK regulated, with a UK presence
• Our own, hugely experienced, in-house claims team

To sum up

Legislation and the regulators are encouraging consumers to move away from a focus on price alone, by considering the quality of cover and claims service too.

With Countrywide, the quality of service and responsiveness provided from our Underwriting and in-house Claims teams means that when you obtain a quote or policy from us, you can be 100% confident that you are acting in the best interests of your client.