I was somewhat shocked to read the comments of Nick Pointon of PYV regarding solicitors' professional indemnity insurance and the "apathy" of solicitors who remain loyal to the brokers at each renewal (Features, 14 September).
The 'pile them high, sell them cheap' style of broking employed by a number of brokers undermines the professionalism of the sector. It also encourages a large volume of solicitors' practices to move every year for minimal savings, when in fact they would be better negotiating and staying with their existing insurers.
As Mr Pointon is maybe aware, the majority of insurers do not like receiving submissions from multiple sources and, indeed, it will eventually be the insurers who develop apathy about firms who shop around every year to multiple brokers.
In our experience, the frantic chase for multiple quotations leads some brokers to cut corners and 'accidentally' omit vital facts from their submissions.
Our philosophy is to encourage our clients to develop a long standing and mutually beneficial relationship over multiple classes of business, and we have found that our clients are happy to remain with a professional broking firm that focuses on service as well as getting the price right.
Building a fund of premium and a relationship with one insurer over a number of years benefits both the client and insurer providing stability for both parties involved.
I am pleased that Steve Holland and Hugh Price appear to share my general views in this area and I hope that higher numbers of solicitors' practices are given good advice and benefit from a professional service provided by a quality broker in the future.
Daniel Innes
Professional risks director
Clear Insurance Management
