Two PRI underwriters join Brit team

PRI legal expenses underwriters Terry Mason and Leo Gibbons will move over to the Brit Insurance legal expenses team this week.

PRI legal expenses' coverholders will now be offered Brit's own products.

Brit accident and financial underwriting director Mike Sibthorpe said: "PRI's existing binding arrangements will be honoured. But any new business will be written through Brit.

"Mason and Gibbons are co-locating with us and will become part of the accident and financial underwriting team, to write on Syndicate 2987."

Brit Insurance also announced this week it has extended its relationship with Abbey Legal Protection (ALP) to underwrite its commercial legal expenses portfolio.

ALP managing director Chris Ward said that since the company was created in 1992, it had placed its before-the-event (BTE) and after-the-event (ATE) business at Lloyd's.

Ward said: "We had always used a number of syndicates to place our business.

As of 1 July we have consolidated our business into Brit Insurance.

"This reinforces our position as a leading supplier of innovative legal protection solutions, but it also enables us to share in our underwriting profitability."

He added that its ATE business, Accidentline, which is underwritten by PRI, would remain with the insurer until its renewal date in October.

"But from that date I imagine it will be formally transferred to Brit," he added.

Sibthorpe said the deal was a rolling three year contract which would allow ALP "security on its flow of business".

ALP specialises in employment, contract, property, criminal prosecution, data protection and statutory licence business.

These are carried on alongside Abbey Tax Protection, which provides cover for professional fees in tax, Inland Revenue and VAT, mainly targeted at accountants.