This time of year there are many attorneys that are forming new practices, either for the 1st time as a new in practice attorney or coming from a larger firm. Here are a couple things to remember when completing attorney malpractice applications:
1. Attorney Malpractice is written for the firm. Even if you are a solo attorney you are a firm of 1. As such the application needs to be answered in that context.
2. As a new firm, often is it is difficult to know exactly what you will be doing in that 1st year. For the initial application new firms need to estimate what you think you will be doing for the year. Even if it is not 100% correct, at next renewal the same questions will be asked again and then the retrospective questions on the application will make sense. And no you do not have to let us know if during that 1st policy year if the areas of practice do not quite match up with reality. Assuming you answered based on your initial plan, as with any plan, that can change and is expected.
3. The areas that need to be answered in a retrospective manner are the insurance history and claims history. If you have had continuous claims made coverage up to this point, even if through another firm, make sure it is answered on the application. If you were a member/partner of a firm or if you personally have had past claims or disciplinary issues, you need to disclose these items.
As always if in doubt give L Squared a call. We will be happy to help you.
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Lee Norcross, MBA, CPCU
Managing Director, CEO
(616) 940-1101 Ext. 7080 |