Question from Attorney:
Will you write an Attorney Malpractice Insurance Policy for me without prior acts coverage? I currently have prior acts coverage and want to renew without any prior acts coverage to save money. I do not want to purchase a Tail or Extended Reporting Period Endorsement from the incumbent insurer.
Response:
Attorney malpractice insurance is written on claims made policy form. Voluntarily renewing without prior acts coverage means dropping insurance coverage that you have paid for in the past. If permitted, the firm will not really have any meaningful coverage.
Sometimes we get this request because attorneys misunderstand claims made insurance coverage. Some think that their old expired insurance policies continue to provide insurance coverage for past acts. While this is true for occurrence insurance policies it is not true for claims made insurance policies. With claims made insurance, the insurer that is on the risk when the claim is made is the insurer that will settle the claim. Even if the claim is reported during the policy period, if the act occurred prior to the prior acts date, then the insurer will decline coverage.
Unfortunately, we also have a few attorneys that because of state requirements or a referral service requirement must have attorney malpractice insurance inforce. These few attorneys search for insurance agents or insurers that are willing to drop prior acts coverage at each renewal and write an insurance policy without any prior acts. If an insured wants to drop prior acts coverage for no valid reason L Squared Insurance Agency will not participate.