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Withdrawal of Countrywide’s Secure Conveyancing Insurance Policy (SCIP) from 15th May 2017

[15/05/2017]

Reluctant decision taken pending legal clarification

As technology continues to advance at a relentless pace, fraudsters are intent on developing new and innovative ways to trick innocent property owners and buyers out of significant sums of cash.

There is a state of flux about what can be done, over and above the stringent checks already made by all parties involved in a transaction. With little direction for the legal profession, we have only had limited success in persuading conveyancing professionals that SCIP is a product which should be recommended to your clients. While there has been a small take-up, it is simply not enough to sustain a policy that is certain to meet significant losses.

Therefore, we have taken the reluctant decision to temporarily suspend the selling of SCIP until such time as clear guidance is provided on this issue. We will honour any quotes you have already, up until their expiry date.

We apologise for any inconvenience that this action causes you and sincerely hope that we can write to you again in the not too distant future to advise that our policy is once again available to help combat property fraud.