Unless you practice in a remote cave system, you won’t have missed the recent furore surrounding the Dreamvar (UK) Limited v Mishcon de Reya case, and the implications for conveyancing practitioners (and their clients) throughout the land.
Whatever the final outcome of the case and any subsequent appeals, the fact is that conveyancing fraud is a menace, and it is not going to go away. Nobody in society is safe from criminals with intent, and the large financial rewards for them from property sales make conveyancing an easy target.
The general public at large are naturally reluctant to protect against loss from fraud as part of a conveyancing process, as it is generally assumed to be something the solicitor representing their interests should have ample Professional Indemnity (PI) cover to protect them. As a leading Chartered Legal Indemnity brokerage specialising in this class of business, we have received frantic calls from several firms in the past month enquiring about appropriate insurance solutions, and we are delighted to confirm that we have negotiated suitable solutions from the wider market, and are in the process of setting up fraud policies for a number of national firms, covering firms’ transactions on both an individual basis, and even extending this to cover a firm’s entire conveyancing book of business, for a safe and consistent approach giving total peace of mind.
The advantage of the policies and processes we can provide over traditional PI insurance (as this case highlights perfectly) is that with the former, it need only be demonstrated that a loss has been suffered, whereas with the latter negligence must be proven. This method of insurance not only may keep a firm’s PI premiums low, but it protects the integrity of the relationship between the firm and its clients, as any recourse can be handled directly between the Insurer and the Insured. Indeed, as one of the few Legal Indemnity firms in the market which handles all ongoing queries and claims on behalf of an Insured party, each and every claim made by a client would be handled by us on their behalf, meaning a firm can rest assured that by arranging fraud insurance through MOFS, not only would the firm be relying on over 90 years’ combined market experience in arranging a policy suitable for its needs, but the firm would be protecting both its own and its clients’ interests for the long-term too. This continuing dialogue between the firm, the client, and MOFS, ensures a positive outcome in the event of a potentially distressing loss, without causing any undue strain on the relationship between the parties into the future.
Our commitment to providing outstanding qualified advice at every stage of the process, Chartered status, and reputation for excellence is why we now act for senior individuals from over 40% of the top 100 UK law firms with Real Estate departments.
For more information on the available solutions, or if you would like one of the team to come in and discuss the options in more detail, please get in touch at li@mofs.co.uk or call 0151 255 2600 and ask to speak to one of the Legal Indemnity team.
