The Law Society is warning solicitors to check the financial strength of an insurer before purchasing their next professional indemnity insurance policy.  

The Society said the warning is to quell the misconception that insurers on the Solicitors Regulation Authority list of ‘qualifying insurers’ are vetted by the regulator. It advised solicitors to seek out an insurer’s rating from an independent ratings agency as the most objective measure of security.

‘Firms should not make one of the most important purchasing decisions for their practice without knowing the facts,’ Law Society president Lucy Scott-Moncrieff said. The warning follows the recent collapse of insurers Quinn and Lemma.