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The Government has published the Regulations implementing the EU Services Directive (SI 2009 No. 2999) which are due to come into force on 28 December 2009. These apply to all service providers including Licensed Conveyancer Practices.
Regulation 8(1)(n) requires service providers to notify clients when instructions are received of information about any Professional Indemnity Insurance Policy in force. Regulation 8(2)(b) suggests it should be "easily accessible".
The Guidance accompanying the Regulations does not make it clear what amounts to "easily accessible" information. The most certain way to ensure you comply with regulation 8(1)(n) is to include in the terms and conditions (or in information about your services) provided to the client a statement about professional indemnity insurance. The CLC accepts that this information may be provided in other ways, provided that it is deemed to be "easily accessible".
CJ Coleman have approved the following wording:
"This Practice has the benefit of professional liability insurance in respect of conveyancing [and probate] services provided in England and Wales with ACE Global Markets and W R Berkley who may be contacted through their brokers C J Coleman at Portsoken House, 155 Minories, London, EC3N 1BT".
The relevant part of the regulations is as follows:
"8 (1) The provider of a service must make the following information available to a recipient of the service :
(n) where the provider is subject to a requirement to hold any professional liability insurance or guarantee, information about the insurance or guarantee and in particular
(i) the contact details of the insurer or guarantor, and
(ii) the territorial coverage of the insurance or guarantee.
(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1), information is made available to the recipient if :
(a) it is supplied by the provider to the recipient on the provider’s own initiative,
(b) it is easily accessible to the recipient at the place where the service is provided or the contract for the service is concluded,
(c) it is easily accessible to the recipient electronically by means of an address supplied by the provider, or
(d) it appears in any information document supplied to the recipient by the provider in which the provider gives a detailed description of the service." |
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