In response to Louise Allonby's letter (see [2005] Gazette, 10 November, 14), my firm also has suffered discrimination when trying to obtain after-the-event insurance for personal injury clients.


I currently have a case where my client is almost certainly going to receive a six-figure sum in damages following a horrific road-traffic accident. Despite positive advice on liability from counsel, a part 36 offer from the defendants - and the defendant himself serving a prison sentence for the incident - I am still rejected for cover. The explanation from insurance companies are the same - my firm does not handle enough personal injury cases a year.


My client is now left in a position where we proceed to issuing the claim before the limitation deadline expires without any cover, thus exposing himself to financial ruin if he lost. My client has built a trusting relationship with me, given that I have dealt with the case since the accident. He does not want to go elsewhere. Surely this practice by the insurance companies is anti-competitive.


Jenny Sharma, Sanders & Co, Stourbridge, West Midlands