CLC cuts regulatory fee rates, reports on a successful PII round

CLC cuts regulatory fee rates, reports on a successful PII round

The CLC, the specialist property law regulator has today confirmed that it will reduce regulatory fees rates for firms by 20% with effect from 1st November 2016. The announcement follows a consultation on the proposed reduced rates and a formal decision by the governing Council. The proposals will now be passed to the Legal Services Board for approval.

The fee rate cut has been made possible by restructuring of the CLC’s operations, staffing, processes and IT support as well as a move to new, more appropriate premises. Together, these have reduced the CLC’s cost base in a sustainable way while maintaining and improving services consumers and the regulated community.

The CLC today also published a review of the operation of the professional indemnity insurance round. Firms had to renew their insurance by 1st July under new terms which built in automatic run-off cover to no cost at the point of a firm’s closure.  This was also the first PII renewal round through a fully open market, following the end of the CLC’s Master Policy scheme.

Feedback from the profession was overwhelmingly positive, with 84% of respondents finding the process easier or the same as the previous year and more than two-thirds saying they were ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with the new arrangements.

Overall, premium rates remain very competitive despite the addition of automatic run-off cover to the minimum terms. All firms that sought cover secured it.

The CLC will discuss the survey findings with insurers to ensure that points raised about the operation of the process are taken account of in planning the 2017 renewal round.

Sheila Kumar, Chief Executive of the CLC said: “The success of the 2016 Professional Indemnity Insurance renewal round and the announcement of 20% reductions to regulatory fees for firms set the seal on a very successful twelve months for the CLC. In a recent independent survey, three-quarters of CLC lawyers said that regulation by the CLC provides value for money and supports innovation and growth in their business. The Legal Services Board gave us a very strong report too, giving us the best assessment of any regulator.

“PII premium rates for CLC-regulated firms remain very competitive. The new automatic run-off provisions are a benefit to firms as well as reducing what had been a risk to consumers and the Compensation Fund in the event that a firm closed without purchasing run-off cover.

“Reducing the costs of regulation is an important part of our mission to foster competition and innovation in conveyancing and probate. The ongoing review of our regulatory arrangements has a sharp focus on even tighter tailoring of our approach to the proportionate regulation of specialist property lawyers.”

This article was submitted to be published by Council for Licensed Conveyancers as part of their advertising agreement with Today’s Conveyancer. The views expressed in this article are those of the submitter and not those of Today’s Conveyancer.

The Council for Licensed Conveyancers

http://www.clc-uk.org/

A history of innovation in specialisation The Council for Licensed Conveyancers was established in 1985 to foster competition and innovation in the conveyancing market. 30 years on we are still helping legal businesses thrive by finding new ways to meet changing customer expectation. Our approach is to support firms to achieve compliance and to accommodate different ways of working where we can. Our experience as a specialist regulator of conveyancing and probate allows us to tailor our regulation to those areas of property law. The Legal Services Board’s recent report on regulatory standards gave the CLC the highest overall rating of any frontline regulator and an independent report by IFF (a research company) found that three quarters of licensed conveyancers believe that regulation by the CLC provides value for money and supports innovation and growth in their business.


Contact: Stephen Ward Tel: 0207 250 8465 Email: clc@clc-uk.org Address Council for Licensed Conveyancers CAN Mezzanine 49 – 51 East Road London N1 6AH

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