Big "I" Kentucky errors and omissions insurance
Big "I" Kentucky E&O insurance focuses on the three P's: Prevent, Protect, and Prosper! To understand the importance of E&O insurance and why Big "I" Kentucky Errors and Omissions Insurance stands out, consider these three pillars of professional protection against complaints in more depth.
Prevent
With almost any insurance, claims can trigger a reassessment of risk profiles and, in turn, higher premiums. Besides, professionals want to delight clients, which includes avoiding mistakes that can result in claims of poor performance or negligence in the first place.
Reducing the likelihood of complaints helps professionals enjoy lower premiums, saves time, reduces stress, and preserves reputations. We have found most E&O claims stem from entirely preventable errors. Thus, we encourage our clients to take advantage of our risk management resources.
For example, these common issues often generate claims against insurance agents but are relatively easy to avoid:
Not Ensuring Clients Maintain Proper Coverage After the Sale
When clients suffer losses that their policies won't cover, have applications declined, or have coverage canceled or lapse unexpectedly, they may blame their agents. To recover losses, they may decide to take legal action. Some agents think they exist only to sell policies and earn commissions. In reality, a good insurance agent should primarily focus on helping clients protect their finances against losses. Thus, reducing claims risk depends upon providing excellent service after a sale.
Agents should work to prevent unpleasant surprises proactively. For instance, agents should monitor their policies. That way, they can contact their clients about pending termination notices or denials, with explanations and solutions to avoid lapses in coverage and potential losses. For instance, clients will appreciate a helpful call from their agent before they receive a termination notice in the mail.
When clients know they have an agent who takes care of them after they purchase a policy, they are likely to remain loyal to that office for all their insurance needs. They're also open to offering referrals from their circle of friends, family members, and business connections.
Not Notifying Clients About Risk Exposures
You can't rely on busy clients to study all the fine print in their insurance policies to determine which risks a policy covers or excludes. At the same time, nobody wants their clients to discover they weren't covered for a particular hazard after they call to file a claim.
For instance, consider some examples of risks that typical policies won't cover, even though many people assume they do:
- Property insurance typically won't cover natural floods, though it may cover water damage from plumbing problems. Clients in areas at risk of floods during rainstorms and windstorms should know they may need a separate flood insurance policy to ensure adequate protection.
- Property insurance will generally cover computers and other devices. However, it may not protect businesses against losing valuable information or getting sued because of a malfunction or data breach. Thus, agents should let clients know they can purchase a separate cyber insurance policy to protect their valuable data, software, reputations, and finances.
- General liability protects businesses against claims that they caused customers or other parties to suffer from injuries or losses. It doesn't provide professional liability coverage to cover claims that a professional, like a doctor, lawyer, or insurance agent, damaged their client in performing their duties. It also doesn't cover employees, like worker's compensation policies.
Insurance agents can protect themselves against lawsuits by ensuring clients understand and manage their risk exposures. For many clients, insurance offers the most critical risk management tool. When agents work with clients to ensure everybody understands what is and is not covered, it prevents unpleasant surprises and losses. Satisfied customers remain loyal, and agents enhance their reputations.
Offering Incorrect or Outdated Information
People rely on professionals for good, honest, accurate advice. When clients ask a question, agents should never answer based on assumptions, but on documented facts. Your clients would rather have you admit you need more clarification and will research the answer than base their essential choices on inaccurate or misleading information.
Prudent professionals will protect themselves and their clients by documenting conversations and only communicating factual information from trusted sources. Sometimes, clients ask questions about future events that there's no way to predict with 100 percent certainty. When professionals cannot guarantee the outcome of their advice or service, they must let clients know. For instance:
- An insurance agent might contact an insurance company with preliminary information to determine the chances of getting a particular application accepted at a specific rate. Upon occasion, the company might come back with a different price quote or even decline the application after full underwriting.
- Similarly, a doctor might offer advice about a generally safe and effective medical procedure to relieve pain. Still, a prudent physician always lets patients know about risks, potential side effects, and the possibility the procedure won't prove effective for each case.
Professionals need to communicate well with clients, let them know when they can't answer with certainty and document important parts of conversations.
protect
Like all humans, you or somebody in your office might make a mistake. You can and should do everything possible to avoid E&O claims. You might never make any errors, but a frustrated or desperate client might complain or file legal action anyway. Your attention to a client's needs and excellent service will provide a first-line defense against complaints and lawsuits.
You can rest easy when you know that you've got highly regarded, comprehensive errors and omissions insurance. Benefits of E&O insurance from Big "I" Kentucky include risk management resources that can help you avoid legal claims and defend yourself in case somebody files a lawsuit. Some highlights of our E&O policies include the following:
- Excellent customer service and a claims team that understands your industry and puts clients first.
- We offer generous limits for liability judgments, legal defense, and much more.
- Our clients can even reduce their policy deductibles by participating in the same risk management activities that will help enhance their reputation and promote goodwill with their clients.
- We work with large, highly-rated, and financially- and rate-stable E&O insurance companies.
Prosper
When you know you have the best agency E&O protection, you can focus on growing your most important asset - your business. Check out some of our other resources:
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Continuing Education
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Hiring Help
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Market Access
For 25 years, the Big "I" Professional Liability Program underwritten by Westport Insurance Corporation, a member of Swiss Re Corporate Solutions (rated A+ Superior by A.M. Best), has been the premiere choice of IIABA member agents for insurance agents and brokers E&O insurance.
The Big “I” Professional Liability Program offers not just a policy, but a comprehensive program for insurance agents. Over the past two decades the Big “I” Professional Liability Program, underwritten by Westport Insurance Corporation, a member of Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, has grown into the largest and most stable insurance agents E&O program in the nation. Our member agents and brokers nationwide look to the program for stable rates and a long-term market that they can rely on to protect their greatest assets—their businesses. Working with our partners at Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, we have created one of the strongest coverage forms in the marketplace.
Review our policy form and you will see these are just a few of the coverage benefits of the Swiss Re policy:Coverage for the sale of both Property/Casualty and Life and Health insurance products Limits of liability up to $20 million Broad definition of covered professional services and activities Comprehensive definition of who is an insured Aggregate deductibles Defense cost outside the limits Available first dollar defense Full prior acts available No contractual liability exclusion Coverage for punitive damages (where available by state) Multiple extended reporting period options True worldwide protection Coverage for advertising, libel and slander Catastrophe Expense $25,000 per policy period Subpoena Coverage $10,000 per policy period 1st Party Personal Data Breach (cyber) $25,000 per policy period 3rd Party Personal Data Breach (cyber) $1,000,000 sublimit Deductible reduction up to $12,500 per claim for risk management activities
Coverage Benefits:The only P&C insurance agents and brokers E&O program in the marketplace that contributes a percentage of every premium dollar to the funding of important advocacy efforts of the IIABA.
State associations that serve to assist you should a claim arise. An exclusive policy form and premium credits filed on a Risk Purchasing Group basis to give Big "I" members coverage tailored to their needs. Competitive pricing supported by a critical mass of premium volume to maintain rate stability. A partner in Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, a member of the Swiss Re Group, rated A+ Superior by A.M. Best. Loss prevention materials to reduce the chance of a claim and improve business processes. An exclusive comprehensive risk management website including practical information and tools to help your agency avoid E&O Claims Advisor– a periodic E&O risk management newsletter available only to Swiss Re policyholders, providing valuable information to all positions in the agency. A Professional Liability Committee comprised of IIABA member agents to oversee and recommend enhancements to the program to meet the ever-changing needs of agents.
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false,false,2With more than 25 years of experience, Allianz is an industry leader in providing E&O liability coverage for agents and brokers - one of the biggest issues they face in an increasingly complex world. The company is one of the largest writers of agents E&O coverage in the country.
Coverage Highlights & benefits- Rated A+ by A.M. Best
- State of the art coverage form, exclusive to Big "I" members
- Claims made coverage with full prior acts
- Coverage for sale of both Property/Casualty and Life/Health insurance products
- Insolvency coverage for all carriers with B+ or better A.M. Best rating
- Limits of Liability up to $10 million
- Broad coverage tailored to insurance agencies
- Broad definition of who is an insured, including spousal liability
- Aggregate deductibles
- Defense costs outside the limits
- $50,000 first party personal data compromise breach response for the accidental loss of client data, with optional higher limits available
- 80/20 Consent to settle clause
- Full prior acts available
- Deductible waived if insured is claims free with Allianz for five or more years
- $10,000/$30,000 Per catastrophe/per policy period claims extra expense
- $35,000 Regulatory investigation defense expense coverage per policy period
- True worldwide coverage
- 10% Premium credit for three years for attending an approved loss control class
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What is E&O Insurance?
What is errors and omissions insurance? Also called professional liability insurance, E&O policies protect professionals against claims of poor performance or negligence while they perform their professional duties, like offering services or advice. A few examples of professionals who typically need errors and omissions (E&O) insurance coverage include doctors, lawyers, financial planners, real estate agents, and insurance agents.
Our comprehensive E&O policies will help pay for legal defense and claims. In addition, risk-prevention resources help professionals establish business practices that make them unlikely to get sued in the first place. These best practices also lead to conducting business in a manner sure to establish trust, retain clients, and encourage enthusiastic referrals. Thus, reducing the risk of professional complaints makes excellent business sense.
Please take a few moments to find out how E&O insurance works, why you need it, how to qualify for insurance discounts, and where to find the best coverage.
Is E&O Required?
Sometimes, states have laws that mandate E&O insurance for certain professionals. Also, business partners or clients may require E&O insurance in their contracts. Even if no other entity requires coverage, prudent professionals often buy a policy to protect their pocketbooks and reputations.
Is Errors and Omissions Insurance Expensive?
The cost of E&O policies can vary considerably by profession, insurance company, and individual risk factors. Good insurers offer ways for clients to earn discounts or lower deductibles by learning how to reduce the risk of claims.
Better, Cheaper E&O Insurance
Any professional who has ever had a client file a complaint over their conduct will say that money spent on E&O insurance was well invested. As with other kinds of policies, top insurers will offer clients discounts for taking steps that help reduce the risk of making claims.
Indeed, the best way to keep premiums affordable includes avoiding claims. That's not always possible, so some other examples of ways to reduce premiums without sacrificing benefits include:
• Loss-prevention courses: Most insurance agents know that car insurance companies offer discounts to people who take defensive driving classes. Similarly, E&O insurance companies offer discounts for taking a loss prevention class.
• Loss-prevention analysis: Underwriters can review business processes to pinpoint vulnerabilities that might lead to claims. They will provide a report with suggestions for improvement, and insurers may offer discounts or reduced deductibles for following these suggestions.
• Checklists: Filling out the following checklists could qualify you for a discount on your E&O coverage.
Which Professionals Need E&O Insurance Coverage?
Professionals and businesses that offer clients, customers, or patients professional advice or services can protect themselves with errors and omissions insurance policies. These policies cover the insured professionals against claims they made errors when they offered advice or services to clients. Not only will the insurers pay settlements and judgments for liability claims, but they will also fund the defense.
Many other professionals are concerned about the risk of litigation from clients. Some typical professionals that purchase this coverage include doctors, lawyers, accountants, financial planners, real estate agents, business consultants, and insurance agents. Thus, marketing agencies, notaries, wedding planners, designers, architects, marketing consultants, and others may also seek professional liability insurance.
