In any given year, approximately 50 percent of all E&O claims against agents are closed for no payment. In other words, at the end of the day, the agency did the right thing and was determined not to have any legal liability for the client suffering the...
“We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” - Epictetus, a Greek Stoic philosopher (50 – 135AD) Somehow, I doubt that Epictetus was talking about insurance agents back in his day, but actually, his words of wisdom are definitely applicable today. When you look at the standard...
Most folks know what phishing is, but did you ever wonder how the term originated? In researching this question, the word phishing was coined around 1996 by hackers stealing America Online accounts and passwords. By analogy with the sport of fishing, these internet scammers were using email lures, setting out hooks to "fish" for passwords...
When your agency is notified by your client of a claim, hopefully in most of those situations, the client has coverage for the issue that has just occurred. In those situations, everything should be good to go. But what if the client does not have any coverage for that loss? How would your agency handle...
Based on the latest numbers from the E&O Plus program, allegations involving inadequate limits are generating around 6 percent of all claims. As a result, it is definitely an issue that agencies should focus on. I remember a discussion around five years ago where the client broached the issue of limits with an agency staff member. The conversation essentially went like this: “I have...
Let's face it...
When was the last time you moved an account to a new carrier? For many agencies, this is a common occurrence as clients are often looking for coverage at a lower premium. This scenario of moving coverage from one carrier to another typically occurs at renewal time but can certainly occur mid-term as well. For...
Imagine you are the client: you’re sitting across from the desk of your trusted insurance agent. The conversation gets to the topic of flood insurance. You are questioning whether you really need it, so you ask the agent for his thoughts. The agent proceeds to advise you that your house is...
Virtually all agencies are aware of the need to confirm client decisions regarding limits or coverage. This level of documentation will be key if a problem arises and the client denies the conversation ever happened. Without a doubt, the memorialization of these conversations has played a key role in the defense of agencies in many E&O matters....
“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently” – Warren Buffet It goes without saying that the relationship between your agency and your carriers is built on trust and honesty. When you provide the carriers/wholesalers with submissions, there is an...