Premium information for solicitors.
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2020–2021 solicitor premiums
Law practices with gross fee income of less than $2m
Premium rates for law practices with gross fee income (GFI) of less than $2 million for the last completed financial year are calculated according to the number of principal and employee practitioners in the practice:
| Principal | $7,612.11 |
| Employee solicitor | $1,903.03 |
| Part-time employee solicitor* | $951.51 |
Rates include GST and stamp duty
* Maximum 21 hours pw and remuneration of not more than $80,000 pa
Any applicable claims loading is added to the premium.
Law practices with gross fee income of $2m or more
Premium rates for law practices with a GFI of more than $2 million for the last completed financial year are calculated as a percentage of their gross fee income.
The GFI percentage is derived through an actuarial model which yields premium rates for different sized law practices that align with the long-term claims experience of law practice groupings.
Low fee earners
Sole practitioners with a gross fee income of less than $140,175 for the last completed financial year, and with no employee solicitors and no adverse claims history, are entitled to reduced premiums in accordance with the low fee earner scale below.
Gross fee income | Premium (incl GST and stamp duty) |
|---|---|
Nil | $191.18 |
$1 – $19,125 | $321.86 |
$19,126 – $39,300 | $762.30 |
$39,301 – $59,475 | $1,458.05 |
$59,476 – $79,650 | $2,398.22 |
$79,651 – $99,825 | $3,585.23 |
$99,826 – $120,000 | $5,016.66 |
$120,000 – $140,175 | $6,694.93 |
Other concessional categories
Law practices working exclusively in the following areas, and with no adverse claims history, are eligible for concessional premiums:
- criminal advocates
- cost consultants
- mediators
- arbitrators with express statutory immunity
| Principal | $242.00 |
| Employee solicitor | $60.50 |
Rates include GST and stamp duty
Claims loadings
Law practices with an adverse claims history are subject to a claims loading.
Claims loadings depend upon the amount of premium paid by the law practice and the frequency and severity of their claims.
Notifications of circumstances which have not become claims are excluded from the calculation of claims loadings.
Forms
Use the application for cover when starting a new practice.
Use the statutory declaration below if LPLC requires verification of a change in a law practice's actual or estimated gross fee income previously notified for a particular financial year.
Solicitor premiums FAQ
For law practices with a gross fee income of $2m or less
If you wish to do any work in an area other than criminal advocacy (even if a one-off matter), you need to contact the LPLC to arrange cover under the standard policy and payment of the applicable premium. All practitioners within your practice will be subject to payment of the additional premium.
If you intend to practice as a locum, you should take out a full practising certificate and apply for a reduced contribution if your estimated earnings, excluding earnings in a true temporary locum tenens situation (where you are replacing a principal or employee practitioner during temporary absence) are below $140,175 per annum.
A reduced premium scale is available to low fee earners. This scale is set out in the premium structure section above. The scale is restricted to sole practitioners without employee practitioners and whose gross fees do not exceed $140,175 per annum.
Yes. A pro-rata refund is applicable so long as you vary or surrender your practising certificate accordingly.
Consultants are treated as employees for the purpose of professional indemnity insurance. The firm will receive a pro rata refund for the difference between the contribution for a principal and the contribution for an employee solicitor. The firm will then continue to pay an employee contribution for you each year.
As a consultant you may still retain your full practising certificate, but you will need to contact the LPLC to be registered as a sole practitioner; you will also be required to pay the nominal premium applicable to a practitioner wishing to hold a full practising certificate and earning NIL fees in private practice.
Yes. Any employee who changes their status to that of a principal will need to have their insurance upgraded to principal level. This will require the difference in the premium between an employee and a principal to be paid.
This is calculated on a pro rata basis taking into account what has already been paid as an employee, provided the employee levy has been paid by you. The reverse applies if one of the principals retires, and is then employed as a consultant and wishes to change his or her practising certificate to an employee certificate.
No.
No.