Agency Operations

E&O and Policy Changes

Making mid-term policy changes is a normal part of the insurance agency business. In fact, it is so routine that there is a danger of making ordinary, perfunctory policy changes…

Voluntary E&O Payments

When a small, uncovered first-party loss is less than an agency’s E&O deductible, there is a temptation to pay the claim directly out of the agency’s own funds, without ever…

E&O and Checking Policies

An agent asks, “With the advent of download from the carrier websites directly into our agency management system, do we need to check the renewal policy for accuracy? We are…

E&O and Clerical Errors

An insured accepts a premium quote and coverage is bound. Later, it’s determined that a rating error occurred. The insurer then bills the insured for the corrected premium. Since the…

Coverage Checklists

An agency put together a list of “disclaimers” they were considering having insureds sign and asked for input on the concept. The general consensus was that disclaimers are sometimes warranted…

How to Fire a Customer

A decision agency owners or managers sometimes face is how to “fire” a customer. Some customers frankly are more trouble than they’re worth. Some demand too much service in relation…

Policy Changes Requested by Third Parties

From time to time, agents may be asked to make policy changes at the request of someone other than a named insured. Most often this involves calls from auto dealerships…

E&O and the CGL Policy

The line of insurance with proportionately the highest incidence of E&O claims is CGL coverage. This is probably not surprising given the broad use of this liability coverage, the complexity…

What Have You Done to Protect Your Agency?

Agents have many opportunities to prepare their agencies against the rising risk of a lawsuit, but three critical areas are too often over-looked: 1) determining your professional status, 2) improving…