Running a legal practice comes with significant professional responsibility. Solicitors insurance is sometimes not enough to protect financial future of your firm against claims, complaints, and unexpected risks.
Legal Firms Insurance
Solicitors PI & Excess (Top Up) Insurance
Protect your practice above the compulsory scheme layer.
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Specialised solutions for solicitors
What Is Solicitors PI & Excess (Top Up) Insurance?
Every practising solicitor must be covered by an approved Professional Indemnity (PI) insurance arrangement before practising. In Australia, compulsory PI is typically arranged through state/territory schemes and minimum limits vary by jurisdiction.
KBI specialises in arranging PI excess (Top Up) insurance and broader insurance solutions for law firms. Top Up sits above the compulsory layer and helps protect your firm where claims costs, defence expenses, and matter values can exceed minimum limits.
Is it time to Top Up?
PI insurance is a fundamental component of running a legal practice, protecting against financial loss from acts, errors, or omissions.
KBI recommends reviewing your PI program at every renewal to ensure your coverage reflects the current size and complexity of your work.
- Higher-value matters: If your firm handles transactions or provides advice regarding property, commercial deals, tax, or estates, a single claim can easily exceed the compulsory layer.
- Corporate and contract requirements: Many clients require higher PI limits as a condition of their contract. Top Up cover ensures you can meet these professional obligations.
- Scope and tower alignment: We help structure excess layers so that coverage remains consistent above the scheme limit, ensuring definitions, exclusions, and cost treatments are aligned.
Why your firm should consider Top Up cover
PI protects your firm against financial loss arising from acts, errors or omissions in the delivery of professional services. It’s a fundamental part of running a legal practice.
We recommend reviewing your PI program at every renewal to ensure your cover reflects the size and complexity of your work.
Top Up is commonly considered where:
- your matters involve higher transaction values (property, commercial, tax or estates work)
- you want to protect the firm against defence costs and longer-tail disputes that can build over time
- clients (especially corporate clients) require higher limits under contract (where applicable)
Common drivers of PI notifications
Even well-run firms can face PI notifications. Common drivers include:
- conveyancing and property transactions
- errors or omissions in advice or documentation
- fraud and dishonesty exposures
- conflicts of interest
- missed deadlines (including limitation periods)
- communication gaps and inadequate file notes / documentation
Current market conditions
The market for solicitors’ PI excess/top-up can be tight. Capacity has reduced in recent years, and some insurers have stepped away from the class, while others have entered.
Common impacts include:
- fewer insurers willing to quote on capacities below $10M
- tougher underwriting on practice mix and claims history
- higher pricing or reduced capacity for certain risk profiles
Understanding your risk profile
Insurers assess legal practices based on the type of work undertaken. Your practice mix directly impacts pricing and available limits.
Practice areas often viewed as higher exposure include (examples only):
- conveyancing and property-related work
- complex commercial matters
- trusts, wills and estates, probate work
- tax planning and advisory work
Additional Solutions
Additional insurance solutions for solicitors
Alongside PI excess/top-up, we can advise on:
We consider each client’s operations, activities, size and contractual requirements to arrange specialised coverage catering to the client’s needs and appetite.
Alongside PI Top Up insurance, KBI can advise on a full suite of covers to protect your entire practice:
Cyber & Privacy Insurance
Management liability/Private Directors & Officers/Board insurance
Business & Office Insurance
Public Liability & Workers’ Compensation.
Corporate Travel and Journey/Gap Insurance
Life Insurance
Why Choose KBI for Solicitors Insurance?
01
Risk Based Insurance Program Design
- We can guide the process to identify and quantify corporate and operational risk profiles.
- We help assess or determine risk appetite.
- We assist in commercially testing insurance options (cost vs benefit analysis).
02
Access to Local and Global Insurance Markets
- KBI leverages both local and global insurance markets to ensure the best outcomes for clients.
- KBI provides contract review services to understand fair apportionment of risk allocation to third parties to better protect the insurance placement.
03
Streamlined Client Service
- KBI is wholly owned by its employees and directors, giving brokers a genuine “care factor” towards clients.
- Pro-active industry-specialist brokers who are hands on, keep abreast of industry news and focus on proactive advice and service to ensure client’s insurance strategy remains suitable to changing needs.
- Advice driven, not transactional – our model is based on partnership and providing expert advice, guiding our clients along our journey together.
04
Claims Management/Advisory
- Dedicated in-house claims management team (including the placement broker), to streamline and simplify the claims process for our clients.
- We partner with leading loss adjusters / solicitors, agreed at the time of placement, not at claim time.
- We can help to have policies in place to include claims preparation costs, advancement of defence costs to aid clients during time of need.
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Talk to a Broker Now
Our team is ready to help you understand your risks and find the right coverage to ensure your firm is fully protected.
Don’t leave your firm vulnerable to the damages. Contact the team at KBI to discuss your solicitors insurance needs and get a customised quote today.
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