All BSB-regulated entities must have appropriate insurance arrangements in place at all times. If not, your entity is in breach of the mandatory conditions for authorisation as specified in the BSB Handbook - see rule S83.4 and related guidance.
The minimum insurance cover that BSB entities are required to have is outlined in our Minimum Terms of Entity Cover.
Our requirements in respect of professional indemnity insurance, including the minimum terms, are concerned with ensuring consumer protection, specifically that there is adequate cover for liabilities which BSB regulated persons and BSB regulated entities may incur to their clients or other parties to whom they may owe duties when performing their legal services. However, the BSB Handbook does not require BSB regulated persons and BSB regulated entities to carry insurance for other types of liability, which do not relate to their liabilities towards consumers, nor are the minimum terms concerned with this type of liability. For example, the minimum terms require you to have insurance which covers third party losses in the event of a cyber incident, but it does not require you to have a separate policy which covers your own (“first party”) losses in such an event. You should assess your level of risk in this area to determine whether such protection is necessary.
Depending on the nature of the work your entity will undertake, your insurance requirements may be greater than the minimum terms. We recommend you speak with your insurer about the level of cover appropriate for your specific circumstances.
You must provide evidence of insurance within 21 days of your authorisation with us. Failure to provide us with this evidence will invalidate your authorisation and your entity will therefore not be authorised to practise. You will also be in breach of the BSB Handbook if you provide legal services during that 21-day period without insurance.
Please be aware that if you have professional indemnity insurance in place covering your practice as a self-employed barrister, you can continue to practise in this capacity whilst you are waiting for entity insurance cover.
As it may take time to arrange insurance cover, we strongly urge you to apply simultaneously to an insurer and to us for authorisation. If you have any questions, please contact us on 0207 092 6801 or [email protected].
It is possible to transfer regulation of an existing entity from another approved regulator to us. However, you may need to check whether your new insurance policy will cover you for actual or potential claims against your previous practice. In some cases, your previous regulator may require you to maintain "run-off" insurance for a period of time after switching to us.
We will continue to monitor how other approved regulators are managing insurance cover when existing authorised persons or entities transfer regulation.
