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Getting to grips with the IDD [17/12/2019]

How can you demonstrate to your clients that you’re acting in their best interests when obtaining legal indemnity insurance?

We’re still regularly asked questions about the Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD), which came into force in October 2018.

All solicitors want to meet their clients’ needs while remaining compliant but not unusually, the IDD set no definitive guidelines and as such, much is left  open to interpretation.

Do I need to get multiple quotes?

This remains a key question and the simple answer is, no, you don’t.

The main emphasis of the IDD is to shift focus away from price and move towards customers being better informed, providing products which meet their demands and needs, e.g. comprehensive policy cover and excellent all-round value for money.

There’s nothing that says solicitors need to obtain multiple quotes. The CLC and the SRA have each issued guidelines and neither say that several quotes must be sought.

The CLC acknowledges how few providers there are in the legal indemnity market and so recognises that quotes may be obtained from a single company; while the SRA guidance highlights that the IDD requires that:

  • All insurance products must be consistent with clients’ demands and needs
  • If a firm advises on a certain product, they must provide “a personalised recommendation explaining why”, ensuring the clients demands and needs are identified, and that the product matches those
  • Firms should review their insurance provider(s) periodically to ensure they’re still suitable for their target market.
What does that mean for you?

It means that very little has changed. If, previously, you only obtained one quote, then carry on as before.

If you were already in the habit of obtaining more than one legal indemnity quote, and want to continue doing so, then simply keep doing exactly that. Of course, we’d always suggest that one of those quotes should be from Isis, and for the following reasons:

  • The most extensive policy cover with noticeably less exclusions than other similar policies
  • Unrivalled service standards, e.g. if you call us, emailed confirmation of your quote will often arrive before you’ve put the phone down!
  • Direct access to some of the most experienced underwriters in the market
  • Our IPID has drawn praise from different quarters and reflects the style of our plain English policies, where clarity is our watchword
  • Our quotation system, ICON, is fast and flexible, with hundreds of products
  • Extremely competitive premiums including those bespoke to an individual risk
  • All policies are insured by an ‘A’ rated insurer, Liberty Legal Indemnities, which is UK regulated, with a UK presence
  • Our own, hugely experienced, in-house claims team.
To sum up

Legislation and the regulators are encouraging consumers to move away from a focus on price alone, by considering the quality of cover and claims service too.

With Isis, the quality of service from our Underwriting and in-house Claims teams means that when you obtain a quote or policy from us, you can be 100% confident that you are acting in the best interests of your client.