Your agency’s goal should be to creating a strong E&O culture through constant and steady improvement in your E&O loss prevention approach. These tips can help:
- Be consistent. Develop a procedure manual or identify 10 essential procedures to benefit your
agency. Assign a segment of your staff to do this to foster greater buy-in.
- Review tasks regularly. A large workload and not handling issues in a timely manner can increase
the potential for E&O matters to develop. Review tasks with each staff member at least monthly and reassign tasks as needed.
- Report claims promptly. A common issue relating to claims involves reporting to excess carriers.
Develop a “Best Practices Guide” for the Claims staff. Keep in mind that agencies don’t have the
authority to approve or deny claims, carriers do.
- Document communications. Document and retain every communication involving a client’s insurance program in the client file. Memorialize discussions back to the client by written communication. This will benefit your agency if a problem develops and the client’s version of the conversation differs from yours. Remember, “If it’s not in the file, it didn’t happen.”
- Use exposure analysis. Most claims involve a client suffering an uninsured loss. Help them
understand their exposures and offer insurance solutions. This helps reduce your E&O exposure
and can result in growth for your agency. Include a section addressing “other coverages to consider
including, but not limited to, the following” in your proposals.
- Check policies. Many agencies assume policies issued by the carrier or from a wholesaler are
correct. Don’t. Develop a policy-checking process for new and renewal business, especially in the
Commercial Lines segment, beyond “the premium is what was quoted.”
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This information and any attachments or links are provided solely as an insurance risk management tool. They are derived from information believed to be accurate. Utica Mutual Insurance Company and the other member insurance companies of the Utica National Insurance Group (“Utica National”) are not providing legal advice or any other professional services. Utica National shall have no liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damages alleged to have been caused, directly or indirectly, by the use of the information provided. You are encouraged to consult an attorney or other professional for advice on these issues.