MOVING INSURANCE FORWARD WITH INTEGRITY, EXPERIENCE AND EFFICIENCY
Call Us Today
(855) 585-6255
Posted on: November 8, 2018 by Huntersure
Insurance policies vary in everything from what’s being covered to who’s being covered. But given the breadth of insurance coverage options, there’s still one major similarity they all have: exclusions. When legal professional clients are weighing their options, they need to know what is covered first, but also need to understand the importance that exclusions play in the long run.
Attorney professional liability insurance policies are not ordinary by any means, especially given the variables that appear in everyday tasks that attorneys have. With this in mind, Attorney Liability Insurance agents should stress the position a lawyers is put in when a claim is reported on an excluded item from their insurance policy.
In general, attorney professional liability insurance policies come with an exclusion for owned entities. Whether it’s a percentage of an ownership either individually or collectively, or managing an entire business, this exclusion plays a vital role. One attorney malpractice policy could provide coverage where another policy excludes coverage.
These exclusions are not typically very common with attorney professional liability insurance policies, but for attorneys who are involved in intellectual property work this is important to know. Policyholders need to be diligent about reviewing both the legal and factual bases for claims stated against them. This will help to understand whether or not a policy exclusion bars coverage.
This area of coverage is a growing concern among attorneys and their firms. With so much at stake in terms of sensitive information and data, attorneys have a lot more to protect. Cyber liability coverage may be included, excluded or not included; it just depends on the insurance policy or carrier. Some firms may be leaning on insurance companies to provide the needed first and third party cyber coverages, but they need to read the endorsement to make sure.
Sometimes this kind of coverage is included, but it can vary. That being said, attorneys need to be diligent in working with their provider on their attorney professional liability insurance policy to understand that loss of funds is property coverage, not necessarily liability coverage. Some attorneys may argue claims against loss of funds are common, which is true, but not all courts have agreed on this.
Some attorneys serve on client boards or are officers of a client body, and most policies come with some sort of exclusion related to these positions. Some policies exclude any work completed for a client that an attorney is an officer or director. Typical malpractice policies will only exclude coverage if the attorney in question is currently involved with managing a business. In some circumstances, this exclusion points to just one attorney, and in others it may act as a blanket for all attorneys at a firm.
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.
Posted in: blog Lawyer Lawyer's professional liability insurance legal liability Professional Liability