Confusion among solicitors as to whether they undertake insurance mediation activities and so need to be registered with the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to avoid committing a criminal offence has led to the Law Society temporarily registering all law firms, it has emerged.

The FSA assumed regulation of general insurance business last month, and solicitors who advise on or arrange contracts of insurance - such as defective title and after-the-event policies - would be covered.


FSA: all firms on register

Under the designated professional body regime, however, such solicitors are overseen by the Law Society, rather than the FSA, although they must be included on the FSA's register of exempt professional firms.

The Society asked law firms whether they needed to be registered during last year's practising certificate renewal exercise, but revealed this week that the number requesting registration is lower than anticipated - among other things, the Society says the term 'insurance mediation' has confused many practitioners. Unregistered firms conducting insurance mediation commit a criminal offence.


As a precaution, the Society has now temporarily placed all firms otherwise unauthorised by the FSA on the register and a spokeswoman said it is contacting for clarification all firms that either said they would not be conducting insurance mediation or failed to address the question.


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