A Danish insurance company has entered the solicitors professional indemnity insurance (PII) market to provide cover to small and medium-sized law firms, as the 1 October renewals deadline approaches.

Copenhagen-based Alpha Insurance A/S will issue PII policies for firms of between one and 25 partners, in conjunction with Giles Insurance Brokers and St Giles Legal and Professional Risks.

Alpha’s cover will be reinsured by Nasdaq-listed Greenlight Re, which has an ‘excellent’ financial stability rating from analyst AM Best.

Firms obtaining cover through Giles and St Giles will receive a ‘full risk management service’ including risk reviews, specialist Lexcel level reviews and an in-house claims handling service, the brokers said.

St Giles managing director Malcolm Gordon said: ‘We have produced with Giles a creative facility, backed by solid reinsurance. We will run this with a team that includes people who themselves were once solicitors in private practice. A proactive claims service is a key part of our offering.’

Giles UK PI director Jon Cook said: ‘We are delighted to have collaborated with St Giles, and to have been able to create a timely solution for solicitors who we know are finding this year’s insurance renewal season very challenging.’

Law Society president Linda Lee said: ‘Many smaller firms are finding it very difficult this year to obtain professional indemnity insurance at a reasonable cost. The announcement that there will be a new provider specifically aimed at the smaller firms of one to 25 partners entering the market is a real boost. For a variety of reasons, some smaller firms had a limited choice of insurers, but the arrival of Alpha Insurance into the PII market provides an additional option for members at a crucial time.’