Law Society President Lubna Shuja said: ‘This move followed extensive lobbying from the Law Society on behalf of solicitors and their clients, urging the SRA to work with us, the insurance industry and wider stakeholders to find a sustainable solution to the issue of run-off indemnity cover and long-term consumer protection.
‘This means clients can have confidence not only that their solicitor is adequately and appropriately insured while a firm remains open, but there are systems in place to make sure that they can still be compensated in the unlikely event that a claim is identified beyond the usual six-year term of solicitors’ mandatory run-off cover.’
SIF had originally been scheduled to close in 2020, but solicitors feared this could leave some retired solicitors exposed to risk.
Polo Commercial Insurance Services Limited have been appointed to handle SIF claims. SIF will cover losses relating to work done before 2000 when it provided indemnity to all solicitors’ firms.
Differences in opinion over the funding of SIF have been ironed out. The Law Society thought there should be a levy on the profession to maintain its assets. The SRA has said no to the levy but has committed to consulting on it should the need arise.
The SRA has also confirmed that in the event of a dispute arising, an independent body will be asked to appoint an arbitrator. If SIF is wound up, and the SRA has no further indemnification purpose for the residual funds, any remaining money will return to the Law Society, to be used for the benefit of the profession.
Paul Philip, SRA chief executive, said: ‘By running the scheme ourselves, we will provide assurance for all that there is ongoing protection for clients.’
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