Civil liability insurance for legal consultants and lawyers

Civil liability insurance for legal consultants and lawyers.

Imputed civil liability insurance for legal consultants and lawyers

What is imputed insurance – it is insurance that is mandatory for the Policyholder (the person who must be insured) but voluntary for the Insurance company.
Civil liability insurance for legal consultants and lawyers is in fact professional liability insurance aimed at protecting the interests of consumers of these services and third parties.


Insured events under civil liability insurance for legal consultants and lawyers:
1) missing procedural deadlines;
2) improper preparation of documents;
3) failure to notify the person to whom legal assistance is provided under the contract of the consequences of the legal actions performed that resulted in harm to them;
4) loss of or damage to documents received by the policyholder (insured person) from the client for the provision of legal assistance;
5) unlawful disclosure of information that became known to the insured person in the course of providing legal assistance;
6) other actions (inaction) that resulted in harm to the property interests of third parties to whom legal assistance is provided under the contract, as a result of the provision of such assistance by the Insured person.

Grounds for the obligation to conclude a civil liability insurance contract for legal consultants and lawyers:
Under Article 77 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On Advocacy and Legal Assistance", a legal consultant is obliged to conclude a professional liability insurance contract for obligations arising from harm caused to third parties to whom legal assistance is provided under the contract.
What is the sum insured under civil liability insurance for legal consultants and lawyers:
sum insured of at least 1,000 MCI (2 525 000 tenge) – for Astana;
at least 500 MCI for other regions
*MCI – monthly calculation index
How much does civil liability insurance for legal consultants and lawyers cost:
The cost is determined individually for each insured person.
This requirement will apply to lawyers and legal consultants from the beginning of 2020. From 1 January 2020, Articles 36 and 77 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan «On Advocacy and Legal Assistance» on insurance of the activities of lawyers and legal consultants come into force.
The institution of civil liability insurance for lawyers and legal consultants is a novelty of the specialised law for lawyers and legal consultants. By virtue of the provisions of the above articles, a lawyer (Art. 36) and a legal consultant (Art. 77) are not entitled to start providing legal assistance without a professional liability insurance contract. No insurance – no right to practise, by analogy with driving a vehicle.
The legislator, in the same way for lawyers and legal consultants, defined the insured event as the fact of the policyholder's civil liability arising for compensation of harm caused to the property interests of third parties to whom legal assistance is provided under the contract, as a result of professional errors made by the insured person in providing legal assistance.
For the purposes of this article, professional errors mean:
1) missing procedural deadlines;
2) improper preparation of documents;
3) failure to notify the person to whom legal assistance is provided under the contract of the consequences of the legal actions performed that resulted in harm to them;
4) loss of or damage to documents received by the policyholder (insured person) from the client for the provision of legal assistance;
5) unlawful disclosure of information constituting attorney-client privilege.
The professional liability insurance contract may define other actions (inaction) that resulted in harm to the property interests of third parties to whom legal assistance is provided under the contract, as a result of the provision of such assistance by the insured person.
The insurance contract must specify the object of insurance, the insured event, the sum insured, the tariff rate, the insurance premium, the deductible, and the period and territory of insurance. The insurer may be a legal entity holding a licence to carry out insurance (reinsurance) activities in the «general insurance» class.
The legislator recommends concluding the insurance agreement on the basis of a standard contract. When studying the essential terms of the standard contract, attention should be paid to the cases in which the insurer is released from making an insurance payout.
For insurance of legal entities and more detailed information, please contact our insurance managers.