Thousands of jobs are being sacrificed on the altar of Compo Culture Britain as insurance companies price small firms out of business.
But ironically it is SOLICITORS themselves - the profession blamed for creating the Compensation Culture - that are being hit by "risk-averse" underwriters hiking-up premiums or declining to renew policies.
Around 400 firms of solicitors in England and Wales are at imminent risk of closure because they cannot obtain insurance for their businesses.
Traditonal market town law firms are among those worst hit by the denial of Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) with premiums hiked up by 400 per cent in the last two years.
Some firms report insurance premiums representing a seventh of annual turnover.
Each year, in October, law firms are required to renew their PII policy which is a legal requirement for them to practice and even the smallest firms are required to have cover for #1m.
With underwriters taking a tough stance and many solicitors struggling in the recession some firms have found it impossible to obtain PII cover at any price. Others have been priced out of business by premiums of around #50,000 a year.
One firm that has folded, for lack of PII insurance is Wilson, Cowie and Dillon, Merseyside outfit that traced its history back more than 128 years.
Paul Crowley is a solicitor whose company has taken over some of the defunct firm's work
said a lack of competition in the insurance market means underwriters have hiked-up prices.
Mr Crowley said: "Every policy comes up for renewal on the 1st October and the insurers know that people must have cover.
"So, with only a limited number of players in the market, they know that they can afford to increase premiums year on year.
"In reality, this can only happen for so long before it becomes just too much for smaller firms.
"You've got to think the impact it has on businesses, it's not only the partners who work there.
"Teams of support staff are losing their jobs on the whim of insurance companies."
Jeff Negus of the Solicitors Regulation Authority confirmed that denial of PII it is a serious problem.
He said: "We are seeing an increasing number of companies who are finding it hard to secure PII cover.
"Insurers are becoming a lot more prescriptive and choosey about who they are willing to underwrite.
"If long-standing companies are forced to stop trading, we really worry whether people will be getting proper access to justice.
"October is the crunch time. It's not like renewing your TV licence or road tax, all firms do it at the same time, so we find an element of panic in which where firms need it sorted and need it sorted quickly.
"Small, one-or-two partner firms, are having a particularly hard time of it. Perhaps they represent more of a risk than recognised or major establishments, but in a lot of cases they are no less-insurable.
"If this continues we could see a lot of smaller solicitors ceasing to trade. It's a grim time for those solicitors, a lot of whom are well practicing, conscientious firms."
The Law Society runs an Assigned Risk Pool (ARP) that tries to help firms struggling to obtain PII cover to find cover.
Around 400 uninsured companies have signed-up to the ARP and have a short period of grace to find insurance, a successor practice, of face closure.
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