Free legal advice offered to SME policyholders
March 11, 2010
Posted by:Sonita Hayward
A major risk in initiating any court action is that the claimant could be held liable for the defendant's costs in the event that their action is unsuccessful. A mainstream insurer has recently announced that they will now be offering a free legal dispute service to all of its Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) policyholders, focusing on contract and professional negligence disputes. Following initial assessment by solicitors, if a complaint is found to have merits then it will be funded on a "no win - no fee" basis. Alongside this, the insurer will also offer after the event insurance cover.
This move means that SMEs (traditionally the hardest hit entities in difficult market conditions) who think that they may have valid claims can investigate and (if meritorious) pursue these claims at limited expense and be protected from having to bear their opponent's costs if their case fails. Provided that claims are properly assessed, this could lead to a rise in the number of successful professional negligence claims before the Courts. The number of negligence claims arising out of surveyor valuations and advice provided by solicitors in connection with property matters has certainly increased following the slump in the property market, which has served to highlight massive errors which would have gone un-noticed had the halcyon days of the boom cycle continued unabated.
Professionals do owe a high standard of care to those who rely upon their advice and they are usually insured in the event of negligence. If you think that you have a professional negligence claim, the professional negligence team at Bolt Burdon Kemp would be happy to discuss this with you. We are able to offer "no win - no fee" agreements upon review of suitable cases and can obtain after the event insurance to protect clients from any adverse costs consequences.