The Royal & SunAlliance's 'after-the-event' protection plan for conditional fee agreements 'Pursuit' has been designed to address two problems which arise from the wider use of CFAs.

One is the risk the solicitor has, when entering into a CFA, of not being paid at all if the case is lost. The other is the cost of insurance which the client requires under a CFA to cover his exposure to costs if the case is lost.

Royal & SunAlliance, through its specialist subsidiary FirstAssist, has more than 20 years experience in designing cover for legal costs. We were involved in discussions with the Law Society over the scheme that became Accident Line Protect. Since the Lord Chancellor's announcement about the extension of CFAs in October 1997, we have participated in a range of working groups and collaborated closely with insurance brokers Willis Faber & Dumas in developing an innovative response.