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David Crawford14 February 2016 08:48 am Chartered accountants have to be insured. Unqualified ones don't.

Accountants' PII has historically been less expensive than solicitors' for the simple reason that they don't have the same claims experience, because they haven't done things like...probate (or conveyancing).

Probate brings claims from e.g. overpaying/paying the wrong beneficiaries, failing to advise on Inheritance Act claims, getting caught up in family warfare with high litigation costs, and, I'm sorry to say it, claims for dishonesty.

The accountants will find that in many cases £500,000 is woefully inadequate cover for probate, and the scope of their cover is not equal to solicitors'.

Probate is susceptible to personal liability claims even within LLPs, because professional advisers may take appointments as executors and trustees. There is a way round this (apart from not taking appointments) but it is not really a solution for smaller firms.

BTW The PII provisions are in s.37 (not s.39) SA 1974.

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