Useful tips to select the best malpractice insurance
As a lawyer, at some point in your career, a disgruntled client might sue you for legal malpractice which might cost you a fortune. Legal malpractice insurances provide coverage for claims that might arise from “wrongful acts” while practicing legal services in the capacity as a lawyer. It also provides indemnification coverage and expense coverage.
Following are the benefits of enrolling in legal malpractice insurance
- Legal malpractices insurance protects lawyers against claims of professional negligence.
- It also protects the lawyer’s staff and associates.
- Legal malpractices insurance provides a means to outsource risk management.
- Enrolling in legal malpractice insurance builds client confidence in the lawyer, thus legitimating their practice.
If you are out to purchase a legal malpractice insurance, here is how you can select the best from the lot.
- Policy premiums
The cost of policy premiums is always one of the major factors when it comes to selecting legal malpractice insurance. Compare quotes from various factors and take help from an experienced insurance broker to help you choose the best legal malpractice insurance. There are numerous factors that determine policy pricing. Some factors include policy limits, deductibles, claims, lawyer’s history, and geographic location.
The best legal malpractice insurance carriers will have the most industry associations. This means, most industries will have legal malpractice insurance from the same carrier. You can find association websites that contain information about such insurance carriers.
One of the main reason people purchase legal malpractice insurance is for protection in the event of a claim. Hence, when selecting a carrier, the insured should ask for a personal claims adjuster. Having a personalized and a fairly experienced local support can be extremely helpful to a lawyer.
It is necessary for a carrier to have an in-state license to offer legal malpractice insurance in that state. So, make sure that the insurance provider you are selecting is regulated by the state. You can access the information about the licensing on the national association of insurance commissioner’s website. By navigating through consumer information source page, you can get a state-by-state report of the insurer of your choice.
This one of the most important aspect of selecting a legal malpractice insurance. It is important to consider the financial integrity of the carrier over the price of premium offered in the insurance. This is to ensure that they are financially stable in the event of a claim by their customers. There are review websites that provide information on insurer’s ability to meet their contractual obligations and their financial strength.
Although this factor might not sound important, it is necessary to know what customers have to say about different carriers. Avoid limiting your networking only to one source. Many people might feel uncomfortable about sharing the history of the claims. Hence, try to use all the resources you have so that you pick the best from the lot.
When selecting a legal malpractice insurance carrier, make sure they have excellent customer service. The service should be able to help you with all your queries regarding insurance periodicals, claims settlements, and other claims handling practices. They should be able to help select the best insurance policy for legal malpractice and also offer efficient after-service in the event of using the insurance.
Based on the above-mentioned factors, here are some popular carriers that offer legal malpractice insurance.
- Allianz
The company has been actively writing legal insurance since 1999. It offers an aggregate of $20 million worth of limits of liability. The minimum deductible for buying this insurance is around $1000. The insurance also offers cover for malicious prosecution, abuse of process, and defamation. Defense costs are included but with an additional premium. However, it does not cover for business enterprises that are not mentioned in the insurance. - Attorney Protective
This carrier offers a coverage in almost every state across the country. It has been writing legal insurance since 2009. The highest limits of liability provided by Attorney Protective is around $5 million. It has a varied deductible where the insurance pays the first $25,000 of the defense costs. Like other carriers, Attorney Protective provides cover for malicious prosecution, defamation, and abuse of process. It offers insurance to firms with 1 to 100 attorneys. - The Bar Plan Mutual Insurance company
This is one of the oldest carriers that offers legal malpractice insurance. It has been in the service since 1986 and offers a liability of $20 million dollars based on the facultative agreement. It offers a minimum deductible of $1000 to a maximum of $10,000. Unlike other carriers, it does not have a provision for malicious prosecution, abuse of process, and defamation. The carriers write for firms of all sizes.
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