A not-for-profit subsidiary of the Law Society of NSW, LawCover Insurance will provide compulsory professional indemnity insurance to NSW legal practitioners.

Having contributed $6 million as initial capital for the firm from its own Special Reserves, the Law Society is said to be committed to supporting the legal profession in this state.

LawCover Insurance Acting CEO David Martin told Lawyers Weekly that LawCover needed the capital for the company and that the Law Society had contributed so much because they would be 100 per cent shareholders.

Arguing that the move was a significant achievement for the NSW legal profession, Martin said: “LawCover Insurance is well positioned to reflect the changing nature of the profession and changing customer expectations”.

LawCover was given a licence to make sure there was a stable vehicle providing this service to the profession, Martin said. “LawCover Insurance will work in the best interests of the legal profession by providing broad coverage for civil liability incurred in private legal practice for the benefit of consumers of legal services.”

An attempt to move away from the previous agency model, LawCover Insurance was designed to better insulate the NSW legal fraternity from the capacity and pricing volatility of the general insurance market. In turn, it is intended that it will provide more stability and affordability in compulsory professional indemnity insurance than has been the case in the past.

“We will continue to service our customers with an equitable and transparent premium-setting process, an excellent and cost-effective claims management process, and by leading the industry in the provision of risk management and practice advisory services,” Martin said.