Phil's Corner Archives - OAMIC: Legal Malpractice Insurance

PHIL’S CORNER: Prior Acts – the 2nd Trigger of Coverage

We have made an effort to make sure policyholders have an understanding of a claims-made policy, on which professional liability is written. The easiest means to do so is to focus on the major differentiations from an occurrence-based policy. What is known as the “first trigger” of coverage in a claims-made form is that a policy must be in effect when the claim is first reported. This makes continuity of coverage critical. If coverage lapses, is discontinued at renewal or...

PHIL’S CORNER: Dividends – Sharing Our Efforts

Phil’s Corner is a special column from OAMIC’s President & CEO Phil Fraim. I am sure the favorite envelope you receive from us has to be the one containing the policy dividend check. In all honesty, it is our favorite one to send because it means we had something left in which to share with you, recognizing your efforts that made it possible. What a crazy year 2020 turned out to be. Yet, with all the uncertainty that seemed to grow...

PHIL’S CORNER: Unexpected Reasons I’m Thankful for 2020

Phil’s Corner is a special column from OAMIC’s President & CEO Phil Fraim. You know, I started to say, “Thank you for 2020,” but man did I have to quickly rephrase that one! No doubt we are strengthened by adversity, but I have serious doubts anyone was sad to see 2020 sail on by. The most difficult part was not being able to predict when it might all get back to normal – whatever that might be. A new normal...

PHIL’S CORNER: Thank You

Phil’s Corner is a special monthly column from OAMIC’s President & CEO Phil Fraim. I started to write something regarding a different subject matter, but during this year when it seems like COVID-19 and many things have made it a difficult and trying time, it hit me how grateful I am for many things. With all the adversity and uncertainty, that may seem like an unusual attitude, even bordering on Pollyanna-ish. Yet, if we can step back and remember the...

PHIL’S CORNER: Moving Past Diversity to Inclusion

Co-written by Phil Fraim and Zindaba Tembo FROM DIVERSITY TO A DIVERSE TEAM Phil Fraim, President and CEO The topic of diversity and inclusion is an important one. However, it is also one that people have heard so many presentations about and been involved in so many educational or training sessions on that they have become weary or desensitized. That is not to infer this is a reasonable reaction, or even understandable. Rather, merely an observation based on statements some have made. Someone...

PHIL’S CORNER: Completing the Firm’s Insurance Needs

Phil’s Corner is a special column from OAMIC’s President & CEO Phil Fraim that is sent in our e-newsletter each month. No big surprise that professional liability insurance is the biggest need for law firms, since it represents the largest exposure for lawyers, as well as other professions like doctors, accountants and architects. For that reason, we will never take our eye off the goal of being the very best professional liability insurer for the Oklahoma legal community. Any business, including...

PHIL’S CORNER: Impact of COVID-19 on LPL Claims – If Any

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....

PHIL’S CORNER: What Do Split Limits Mean?

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...

PHIL’S CORNER: If LPL Is Important, Are Limits Also?

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: Business Interruption Coverage – The Battle Royale

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...