ALP LAUNCHES BESPOKE SOLICITORS PROFESSIONAL NEGLIGENCE SCHEME

Allianz Legal Protection (ALP) and Irwin Mitchell Solicitors have developed a bespoke After the Event (ATE) insurance solution for professional negligence claims against solicitors.

The new product, Support4Dispute Professional Negligence, enables consumers and businesses to take legal action against a law firm which has failed the customer through negligence.

The cover provides customers with financial protection to manage the adverse cost risk associated with litigation by paying the opponents costs and any disbursements incurred as a result of the legal action being unsuccessful.

To ensure that the claims process is hassle free for customers, ALP has provided Irwin Mitchell with full delegated authority.

A unique feature of the ATE insurance policy is the staged premium facility, which is linked to the amount of damages recovered and capped. This feature enables the claimant to retain a more proportionate share of any damages recovered, especially for cases in the sub £100,000 damages band. In addition, the ATE insurance premium is deferred until the case is settled, and only payable on successful cases.

Steve Rowley, business development manager at Allianz Legal Protection, said: “Customers with lower value claims are struggling to find appropriately priced and suitable ATE insurance cover that meets their needs. This often means these cases never progress, even though the customer has suffered some form of negligence.

“We’ve worked with Irwin Mitchell over several months to jointly develop this product specifically aimed at addressing the risks and issues faced by customers trying to bring a negligence action against solicitors. Irwin Mitchell’s expertise in handling solicitor professional negligence claims provides us with complete confidence to provide the product on a delegated authority basis.”

Dan Brumpton partner and head of professional team, Irwin Mitchell, said: “Since April 2013 many clients with potentially strong claims against their former solicitors have found it difficult to fund them. We believe this new product will allow those clients the opportunity to do so, thereby providing much needed access to justice.”