Licensed conveyancers and professional indemnity: the CLC requirements
Reviewed by Apex Insurance Brokers · Last reviewed 2026-08-05
If you run or work in a CLC-regulated conveyancing or probate practice in England and Wales, professional indemnity insurance is not optional and it is not a policy you can shop for freely. The Council for Licensed Conveyancers operates a participating-insurer scheme with prescribed minimum terms, and your cover must comply. This page explains how that scheme is structured, what it obliges you to hold, and where it differs from PI arrangements used by other legal professions.
Who the CLC regulates
The Council for Licensed Conveyancers is the statutory regulator for licensed conveyancers, and for CLC probate lawyers, in England and Wales. It was established under the Administration of Justice Act 1985 and is an approved regulator and licensing authority under the Legal Services Act 2007. If your practice holds a CLC licence, the CLC — not the SRA and not the Bar Standards Board — sets your professional indemnity obligations.
This matters because conveyancers regularly handle large sums of client money and give advice on which property transactions turn. A single error — a missed charge, a defective title check, a misdirected completion payment — can generate a claim far larger than an annual fee income. The CLC scheme exists to make sure clients are protected when that happens, and that the firm survives to keep trading.
The participating-insurer scheme
Rather than let every firm negotiate its own terms, the CLC runs a scheme built around participating insurers. An insurer that wants to write PI cover for CLC-regulated practices signs an agreement with the CLC and commits to offering policies that meet the CLC’s Minimum Terms and Conditions (MTC). Your practice must buy its primary PI cover from a participating insurer, on a policy that satisfies those minimum terms.
The MTC are the core of the scheme. They define the floor of protection a compliant policy has to provide — below that floor, a policy does not satisfy the CLC’s rules, whatever premium is quoted. Because the terms are standardised, a client dealing with any CLC firm can rely on a broadly consistent baseline of cover, and firms are protected from being sold policies riddled with restrictions.
What the minimum terms typically require
The CLC’s minimum terms are set out in its published Professional Indemnity Insurance arrangements and are reviewed periodically, so treat the following as the structure of the requirement rather than a fixed quote. In broad terms, a compliant policy is expected to:
- Provide cover for civil liability arising from the practice’s regulated activities, on terms no less favourable than the MTC.
- Meet a minimum level of cover (sum insured) for any one claim, set by the CLC. The CLC publishes the current figure — confirm it before you renew, as it can change.
- Include defence costs and cover for the acts of principals, employees and others the firm is responsible for.
- Restrict the exclusions and conditions an insurer can impose, so cover cannot be hollowed out by fine print.
- Provide run-off cover when a practice closes or ceases to be regulated, for a minimum period, so past clients remain protected.
The exact monetary minimum, the run-off period and the permitted excess arrangements are all defined in the CLC’s current documentation. We deliberately do not quote a specific figure here, because a page that is out of date is worse than no figure at all. Ask us to confirm the current minimum for your practice when you get a quote.
Run-off cover: why it is built in
Professional indemnity is written on a claims-made basis, meaning the policy that responds is the one in force when a claim is notified, not the one in force when the work was done. Conveyancing errors can surface years after completion. Without run-off cover, a firm that closed its doors would leave former clients — and its former principals — exposed to claims with no policy behind them.
The CLC scheme deals with this by requiring run-off cover as part of the minimum terms. When a regulated practice ceases, cover continues for a defined period so that late-emerging claims are still met. If you are planning to close, merge or retire, understanding your run-off obligation is essential — it is a regulatory requirement, not a courtesy.
The Compensation Fund: a separate safety net
PI insurance is not the only client protection the CLC operates. The CLC also maintains a Compensation Fund (compensation arrangements), funded by contributions from regulated practices. The two mechanisms do different jobs and it is worth keeping them distinct:
| Feature | PI insurance (scheme) | Compensation Fund |
|---|---|---|
| Bought by the firm? | Yes — from a participating insurer | No — run by the CLC, funded by levies |
| Responds to | Negligence and civil liability claims | Loss where a firm cannot make good (e.g. dishonesty, failure to account) |
| Primary purpose | Protect the firm and its clients against claims | Last-resort protection for clients |
A client would normally look to the firm’s PI insurer first. The Compensation Fund is a backstop for situations the insurance does not cover — most obviously where money has been lost through dishonesty or where a firm has failed and cannot meet a valid claim. Both are governed by CLC rules and both have their own eligibility criteria and limits.
Need CLC-compliant PI cover from a participating insurer? We arrange it and confirm the current minimum terms for you.
Get a PI quote →Verify the current rules before you rely on this
The CLC keeps its Professional Indemnity Insurance arrangements, its list of participating insurers, and its minimum sum insured under review, and updates them from time to time. The figures, run-off periods and detailed conditions in force when you renew may differ from earlier years. Before you commit to a policy, check the CLC’s current published PII documentation, confirm your insurer is a current participant in the scheme, and make sure the policy schedule meets the minimum terms in full. A good broker will do this verification with you rather than leaving you to interpret the rules alone.
Common questions
Can a CLC firm buy PI from any insurer?
No. Your primary PI cover must come from an insurer that participates in the CLC scheme, on a policy meeting the CLC’s Minimum Terms and Conditions. A cheaper policy from a non-participating insurer will not satisfy your regulatory obligation.
Is the CLC Compensation Fund the same as PI insurance?
No. PI insurance is the firm’s own policy covering negligence and civil liability. The Compensation Fund is a CLC-run, levy-funded backstop that protects clients where a firm cannot make good a loss, for example through dishonesty or failure to account. They work together but cover different situations.
What is the minimum sum insured I need?
The CLC sets a minimum level of cover per claim and publishes the current figure in its PII arrangements. Because it can change, confirm the up-to-date requirement with the CLC or ask us to verify it as part of your quote.
Apex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 724952). This guide is general information, not advice on a specific policy or a substitute for your policy wording.