Attorney Malpractice Insurance is not like homeowners, auto, or business insurance. You need an agent that is trained and experienced in Attorney Malpractice Insurance. Here are a few of the reasons:
1. Most of the Malpractice Insurance carriers are not companies that many people know. Few advertise. Even if they are household names, it is likely that it is a subsidiary that is selling the insurance. An experienced Malpractice Agent will know who the carriers are and which carriers are appropriate for a specific law practice.
2. Attorney Malpractice is sold on a “claims made” policy form. Many agents are not familiar with the ins and outs of a “claims made” policy form. Mistakes made with “claims made” coverage are common with agents that do not understand the importance of continuous “claims made” coverage. This may sound like a simple task, but when attorneys join law firms, leave law firms or form law firms, all of these present different issues with properly maintaining “claims made” insurance coverage. You do not want to be working with an agent that is addressing these issues for the 1st and only time.
3. None of the Lawyers Professional Liability Insurance policy forms are standard. Even though the intent of all Attorney Malpractice Insurance Carriers is to provide coverage for an attorneys law practice, not every policy is suited for every law firm. Policy exclusions differ from one carrier to another. What might be covered by one attorney malpractice policy may be excluded in another. An experience agent that deals with these policies daily should be aware of the differences.
4. Attorney Malpractice premiums can differ by 2 or 3 times depending on the Insurance Carrier and the appetite that the insurance carrier has for different types of law firms. An experience agent should know which carriers are most competitive for a particular law firm.
5. In addition to the admitted insurance carriers that sell attorney malpractice. Attorney Malpractice is also sold by Risk Retention Groups, Risk Purchasing Groups and Surplus Lines (non-Admitted) Insurance Companies. It is important that your insurance agent understands the differences between these entities and provides the proper guidance as to the additional exposure that some entities may have by their very nature,
6. Insurance carriers generally try to do the right thing for their insured. But this is not always the case. An experience agent can sometimes intercede with carriers underwriting and claims departments when the insurance carrier is not doing the right thing for an insured. Had an occasion just recently, where a malpractice insurance carrier without proper notice reduced coverages on one of their insureds. Even though the insured was a lawyer, the attorney did not realize that they were entitled to proper notice. With a coverage extension, serving as proper notice, insured was able to secure adequate limits, maintaining their “claims made” coverage.
7. If trouble strikes and the preferred malpractice insurance carriers will no longer offer coverage, an experience malpractice insurance agent will have access to non-standard malpractice insurance carriers that specialize in distressed firms. It is very important that the agent guide the insured to provide the most appropriate nonstandard coverage, explaining the differences between what the insured has and what they will not have in the future.
L Squared Insurance Agency has been in business since 2002, providing attorney malpractice insurance to thousands of law firms. L Squared specializes in attorney malpractice insurance. The L Squared Insurance agents continue their training beyond what is required for an insurance license. L Squared Insurance Agency has access to many Attorney Malpractice Insurance Companies that specialize in attorney malpractice insurance on an exclusive and non-exclusive basis.