The SRA Board decided last month that an SRA-run indemnity scheme offered the best protection for post-six-year negligence claims against solicitors. The scheme will run from September 2023, matching the protection provided by the Solicitors Indemnity Fund (SIF) where a claim arises more than six years after a firm has closed and there is no successor practice.
All solicitors were insured by SIF until 2000, when the profession turned to the open market for insurance, but there is no cover for post six-year claims.
The SRA consultation, ‘Consumer protection for post six-year negligence’, which runs until 3 January 2023, invites views on draft rules for the scheme.
Welcoming the consultation, Law Society president I Stephanie Boyce said: ‘We note the SRA is confident they will be able to deliver the same protections as SIF, at a lower cost.’