Check with your insurer before giving undertakings to HSBC lawyers seems to be the message from Prime Professions.

Prime Professions the large professional indemnity insurance broker have issued a news item on their website quoting a letter from SolicitorsPI.com another professional indemnity insurance broker stating “HSBC's new rules regarding conveyancing could lead to firms that sign up for the service with the bank facing an increasing number of professional negligence claims”.

It pointed out one of the main issues conveyancers are going to have to face as a result of the changes made by HSBC is that they have to ensure any assumptions that have been made by the valuer of the property are correct.  Though we understand that some of the more onerous undertaking requirements have been amended in recent days there still appear to be many problematic issues associated with the new separate representation process.

Richard Brown from Prime Professions added: "We would urge any solicitor practice thinking of signing up to the HSBC terms of business to check with their PII insurer before doing so that they are happy to cover them for all possible breaches. To not do so could possibly cause future problems either at renewal or at the point of claim."