When law firms are reviewing our lawyers professional liability (LPL) insurance policy, we are asked a myriad of questions concerning pricing and coverage. While these subjects are important, they can get very detailed and complicated, so it’s important to have a good understanding of the basics of your LPL policy to better understand who and what are covered, and how that is reflected in your premium.Every policy we issue (more…)
Phil’s Corner is a special column from OAMIC’s President & CEO Phil Fraim that is sent in our e-newsletter each month.So far in 2020, claims in our office have been improved both in the number of new matters and the average size of those matters. Is this a false sense of security, the calm before the storm? It is way too early in the game to make predictions on what is known as a relatively long-tail line of coverage. [...]
A common question from prospective insureds is how much does coverage cost? That is a tough one for which to craft an answer. As you might imagine, some of it depends upon the limit and, to a lesser degree, the deductible. There are also other factors that have an impact, even if in a smaller way. We previously discussed adequate or appropriate limits for the firm, so here we’ll examine factors that influence rating below. Limits and Deductible If you think [...]
As a lawyer, you probably know that it’s in your best interest to have insurance in place to cover the legal services you provide. When looking into your insurance options, or even in conversations with other lawyers or professionals, you may have come across these terms: professional liability (PL), errors and omissions (E&O), malpractice and even professional indemnity. Have you ever wondered which of these is right for you? If you aren’t sure what these terms mean, let alone [...]
Phil’s Corner is a special column from OAMIC’s President & CEO Phil Fraim that is sent in our e-newsletter each month.Most professional liability polices provide different limits, or maximum dollar amounts that will be paid, for different areas. This differs from a typical general liability (GL) policy that is normally written on a combined single limit (CSL) basis. As an example, a 1M CSL GL policy will pay a maximum of $1 million, regardless of whether the claim involves [...]
The thought of a legal malpractice claim is stressful and unnerving. The truth is, however, lawyers should expect two to three claims in their careers, according to the American Bar Association. It’s not usually a matter of “if” it will happen – but “when.”Even if the claim doesn’t have any merit whatsoever, it still requires attention. The sooner we know about a claim, potential claim or incident, the better off you are. Reporting early allows us to immediately begin our claims process, and often enables us to [...]
Phil’s Corner is a special column from OAMIC’s President & CEO Phil Fraim that is sent in our e-newsletter each month.Most of the good, conscientious lawyers I know support the idea of the importance of lawyers professional liability insurance (LPL) and would not think of practicing without it. This is not because they think they are prone to mistakes, don’t know the law or are inexperienced. The fact is, they fight against the same mental impediment to effective risk [...]
Phil’s Corner is a special column from OAMIC’s President & CEO Phil Fraim that is sent in our e-newsletter each month.When “sheltering-in” first began, I wondered how long it would take for questions to arise about whether COVID-19 triggered Business Interruption (B.I.) coverage within property policies. It didn’t take too long before lawsuits were filed and some of them were actually filed before a claim was presented, let alone a denial received. I fielded a few questions about OAMIC’s policy and whether any [...]
Phil’s Corner is a special column from OAMIC’s President & CEO Phil Fraim that is sent in our e-newsletter each month.Hopefully all of you are more aware of coverage nuances within the claims-made policy forms from past articles and video information in the Resources section of our website. As mentioned before, there are no big downsides to a claims-made form as long as continuity of coverage is maintained and gaps in coverage are avoided. Remember, within the scope of [...]
Walking away from a law practice is not as easy as turning off the lights and locking the door. It takes a bit of planning. The more organized your office is, the simpler those steps will be. If you already have a procedure to produce a list of client names and contact information for all open files, an up-to-date calendaring system with all deadlines and follow up dates, current billing records, etc., then locking the office door will be [...]
