Insurance and client protection

The Master Policy for professional indemnity insurance

We arrange the mandatory professional indemnity insurance, known as the Master Policy, for all Scottish solicitors in private practice. There is a minimum cover level of £2 million.

Before your firm starts trading, you will need to contact the appointed Master Policy broker, Lockton, to arrange your own professional indemnity cover. Once completed, they will provide a certificate of insurance, which you will have to send to us before you start to practise.

A firm limited to criminal court work only throughout the practice year is entitled to a discount on its Master
Policy premium. You will need to confirm to Lockton the limitations of your work and complete a criminal court undertaking, copies of which must be sent to the Law Society and to Lockton. Once you are provided with Master Policy cover, Lockton will set you up with a username and login so that you can access your proposal form and policy documents online.
You can obtain a Master Policy quote for your new practice by contacting Lockton on 0131 345 5599 or by completing and returning a PI proposal form to Lockton.
See Rule and Guidance B7
A master policy proposal form can be downloaded from www.locktonlaw.scot

Additional cover

Your practice will have a range of other insurance needs. If you have an office, you are likely to require office insurance. You will need employers’ liability insurance if you hire staff (this is often included in an office package of cover as is public liability insurance). Some firms purchase fidelity, crime or cyber insurance.

If the Master Policy £2 million compulsory cover is not sufficient for the nature of your work, Lockton can arrange additional top-up professional indemnity insurance for you.

Contact your usual insurance broker (or Lockton) for information on your specific requirements and they will be able to advise on any insurance products that are available.

Client Protection Fund

As a new practice unit, all managers will need to contribute towards the Client Protection Fund (the operating name of the Guarantee Fund). The current rates, along with the rates for the account fee and the AML fee, are available on our website. Payment needs to be made before your practice unit starts operating unless you have already paid it as a manager in another practice for that year.
See rule and guidance B7.1: Master Policy
See rule and guidance B6, Part VI: Client Protection Fund (Guarantee Fund)
See the fees section of the website.