Spiralling professional indemnity insurance premiums will not be reduced, despite a Law Lords ruling that cut the professions exposure to negligence claims.
The Law Lords ruled last week that surveyors cannot be sued for bad advice that was given more than six years ago.
The case involves an appeal in the case of Cave v Robinson Jarvis & Rolf, and applies to claims against surveyors, solicitors and other professional advisers.
Emma Hastings, RICS insurance manager, said: “The verdict will bring a lot of relief to surveyors. There had been a fear that the earlier judgments would lead to a wave of old cases being resurrected.”
Richard Gerrard, of indemnity insurer St Paul, said: “It is highly unlikely that premiums will go down at all. Premiums didnt rise to take account of the earlier ruling. Across the industry, premiums are rising because of the cost of reinsurance, the impact of the 11 September attacks and the general market condition.”
Last month, hikes of as much as 300% in premiums caused surveyors to call on the RICS to set up a £50m fund to protect them from large claims.
See Saturday’s Estates Gazette for the full version of this story.
EGi News 03/05/02
