Common Misconceptions About Attorney Liability Insurance

Posted on: March 22, 2018 by Huntersure

The relationship between a lawyers and their client may be anything but consistent. A legal professional may be committed to a client, but the client may not meet them halfway. Lawyers of all kinds in a wide range of practice size face potential risks and exposures as malpractice lawsuits are becoming more common.

If you’re a legal professional, having Attorney Liability Insurance can help to ward off these risks or help in times of litigation and trial. But before you jump into any coverage it’s best to know what it actually covers and what it doesn’t.

Getting Covered

Attorney liability insurance is specifically designed to offer safeguarding for lawyers and those in the legal arena. This kind of insurance protects against losses resulting from negligence, errors, and mistakes that happen in legal services. Some benefits include errors and omissions coverage, claim services and pre-claim assistance, and crisis event expense coverage.

Debunking Some Myths

Some legal professionals, whether through laziness or resting on their laurels, may think that one coverage fits all or that their practice will cover all the costs. While some of this is slightly true, legal professionals can benefit from heeding these debunked misconceptions surrounding attorney liability insurance.

1. Some believe that a law firm that changes its liability carrier won’t cover claims coming after the firm changed over. In fact, attorney liability carriers usually provide coverage to for prior acts. Including tail coverage is a cost effective choice for the law firm.
2. Legal professionals who choose to buy their insurance from the same company as their firm may think this is the best price. In reality, it’s always best to shop around; this is just a good rule of thumb. Sometimes lawyers end up paying much more in premiums than competitors’ rates for less coverage. Depending on the insurance coverage that is being looked at it may be best to choose between a mutual company or a commercial carrier.
3. Some lawyers actually think they just plain don’t need insurance because they think lawsuits only happen to professionals who are insured. Actually something like being charged for negligence can cost you everything you have. Lawsuits can be brought against anyone; no one is immune.
4. If a suit is found groundless, some legal professionals believe there’s not point in being covered. Again, this is something that is not advisable. A legal professional can be covered for expenses from a groundless suit. Legal fees and court costs can stack up, even if you and/or your practice are not in the wrong. Having a well-educated and thought-out attorney liability insurance.

MYTH: There’s no point in having insurance if you aren’t covered for suits that are found groundless.

FACT: You can be covered for expenses from a groundless suit.

With the Marsh Affinity Group Services Plan, legal fees and court costs incurred by the insurer on your behalf are paid, for covered claims, in addition to the liability limits, even if the suit is groundless, false or fraudulent. You will not have to worry about suffering from the expense of a lawsuit brought on by someone who is only interested in suing for the money.

About Huntersure

Huntersure LLC is a full-service Managing General Agency that has provided insurance program administration for professional liability products to our partners across the United States since 2007. We specialize in providing insurance solutions for businesses of all sizes. Our program features can cover small firms (grossing $2.5 million annually) to large corporations (grossing $25 million annually or more). We make doing business with us easy with our breadth and depth of knowledge of E&O insurance, our proprietary underwriting system that allows for responsive quoting, binding and policy issuance and tailored products to meet the needs of your insureds. Give us a call at (646) 751-3030 to learn more.

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