In athletics, there is a mantra that “defense wins championships” – meaning one must always be prepared to stop the oncoming team in order to succeed. The same is true with your agency’s E&O avoidance procedures: it is better to be prepared to stop errors andomissions than to try and make up for them afterwards. One way to be prepared is to know the 5 Most Common E&O Mistakes:
1. Lack of communication in policy changes (renewal, cancellation, etc.)
2. Non-compliance of client’s cancellation rights (not providing replacement coverage, hindering right to cancellation, omitting offer of “tail” coverage)
3. Delay in processing new business and/or policy changes
4. Incorrectly advising current or potential clients (i.e. giving inaccurate rate quotes)
5. Failure to fully explain policy conditions, renewal and cancellation procedures
To avoid falling in to these mistakes, your independent insurance agency needs to have a number of “plays” to keep your defense solid. This includes having well established and followed E&O procedures, utilizing a variety of tools (i.e. mobile management system access), and using root cause analysis. We’ll address some of these tactics and tools in our coming posts as we dive deeper into how to beef up your E&O defense.
Your best E&O defensive measure is your agency management system, as it contains all client and policy information in one place. Capabilities such as Partner XE’s paperless workflow provide great E&O protection through allowing you to quickly attach documentation to a client record. To find out more about Partner XE, check out our website or contact us directly at (800) 747-9273.
