Solicitors paid less to insurers for professional indemnity insurance (PII) this year than they did in the previous two years, Solicitors Regulation Authority figures revealed today.

The cost of insuring the profession on the open market this year was £214m, down from £241m in 2009/10 and £226m in 2008/09.

The news comes after some solicitors reported large increases in premiums and exceptionally difficult market conditions for the third renewal period in a row.

The SRA figures also show a marked difference in insurers’ participation in the market, in terms of their share of the £214m premium pool.

Chartis Insurance, formerly AIG, increased its share of the market, taking slightly more than 18% of premiums this year compared with 15.2% in 2009/10. It was followed as market leader by: Inter Hannover (14.4%, up from 4.5%); XL Insurance (13.3%, up from 7.1%); Zurich (12.9%, up slightly from 12.8%); and Travelers (11%, down from 13.4%).

XL and Inter Hannover entered the solicitors PII market in 2009.

Before 2008/09, insurance costs fell by up to 10% each year following the abolition of the solicitors’ indemnity fund (SIF). In 2000, the last year of the SIF, the cost of insuring the profession was £255m.