About Professional Indemnity Insurance

All legal practitioners practising as principals of a law practice (unsupervised) in New South Wales are required to hold or be covered by Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) pursuant to section 45 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law (NSW). Insurable solicitors in the Australian Capital Territory are required to hold an approved professional indemnity policy under section 311 of the Legal Profession Act 2006 (ACT). Law practices in the Northern Territory are required to hold an approved professional indemnity policy under s376 of the Legal Profession Act (NT) 2006.

Lawcover provides approved professional indemnity insurance policies to law practices in NSW, the ACT and NT. For 2020/21, the Lawcover PII policy provides law practices with cover up to $2 million each claim, including claimant’s costs & defence costs. Lawcover also provides Top Up insurance, over and above the required primary $2 million limit, to many law practices in NSW and nationally.

Extent of cover

Lawcover issues two policies for law practices:

A PII Policy issued to current law practices and sole practitioners in private practice;
A Run Off PII Policy issued to the Law Society of NSW, the ACT Law Society and the Law Society NT which covers law practices that have ceased and have not been succeeded by another practice.

The PII policy sets out the extent of the civil liability cover provided to both the current law practice and its current and former principals and employees, as well as those of a prior practice of the law practice. The terms, conditions and exclusions are written in plain English.

The PII policy responds to civil liability for claims that arise from legal services provided by the law practice that are first made during the period of insurance, subject to the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy.

Features of the cover

Broad civil liability cover for practitioners in private legal practice which protects consumers of legal services.
Cover available to all insurable law practices.
Indemnity of up to $2 million each claim, including defence costs and claimant’s costs (excluding the applicable excess).
No provision for avoidance or cancellation for reasons such as non-disclosure.
Run off cover for former principals and employees.
Run off cover for law practices that have previously ceased.

The Run Off policy covers a law practice (including its prior practices) that has ceased and that is not a prior practice of any other practice. This cover is only extended to law practices that, at the time of ceasing legal practice, were insured under any Certificate of Insurance arranged by Lawcover or Insurance policy underwritten by Lawcover Insurance.

Lawcover can only provide information with respect to the current underwriting year, and this information may change in future years.