Lawyers Professional Liability
Lawyers Professional Liability Insurance in Tennessee
If you are a legal professional in Tennessee, you need the very best Lawyers Professional Liability Insurance you can afford. For instance, you could give someone legal advice that turns out to be the wrong choice. Perhaps a client does not feel you fairly represented him in court. Maybe a lawsuit settlement was unsatisfactory to a client. There are a number of things clients can claim and whether they are legitimate or not, these claims can cause you a lot of trouble. These legal problems can cost you a great deal of time, money, and can tarnish your reputation. This is why is so important to have the right kind of professional liability coverage in place. Here is an example.
Henry was a trusted attorney who served Kingsport and surrounding areas. His legal assistant Ellen worked for Henry for over 10 years. She was trustworthy and very efficient. However, unbeknownst to Henry, Ellen had become addicted to pain killers due to her chronic back condition. At first, it was not much of a problem but after a year or so, Ellen’s habit was out of control and she was taking as many as 20 pills a day and buying them illegally. This became a very expensive habit.
For almost 8 months, Ellen had been accessing sensitive client information and embezzling client funds from accounts (to pay for drugs). The problem was not realized until one of Henry’s clients realized what was happening and reported it to local law enforcement. Ellen was subsequently arrested and charged with stealing over $10,000 in client’s money. However, since she worked for Henry’s law office, Henry was responsible for reimbursing embezzled funds.
Henry had Attorney Professional Liability Insurance from a well-known independent insurance agency. The agency provided insurance and important risk management services. In fact, Henry had just changed agencies a year ago, and his new agent told him about the importance of employee theft insurance. Even though he trusted Ellen, he decided he should take this option. Henry was very happy that he chose to go with experience insurance experts.
What is Lawyers Professional Liability Insurance?
Professional liability (indemnity) for lawyers covers all kinds of mistakes that you or your staff might make during the course of conducting business. This can cover errors and omissions but also much more. For example, your professional liability may also cover intentional acts which result in damages and legal claims.
Who Needs Attorney Professional Liability Insurance?
Anyone working in the legal profession should have protection against problems that can arise resulting in lawsuits. Attorneys should be covered as well as paralegals, secretaries, administrators, and anyone in a law office, whether the services are paid for or volunteered. Also, any company with lawyers on their payroll, need to have their actions covered by liability insurance.
An Attorney Professional Liability Insurance policy should cover mistakes and errors that result in client claims (errors and omissions). This may also cover personal data breaches. For example, if someone were to break into a legal office and steal vital info, this could wreak havoc with clients and the practice. Cyber liability is important for legal services today. In fact, every day, websites and business computers are hacked into and sensitive information is compromised. This protection may include compensation for media reporting and crisis management services too.
What about Options for Professional Indemnity?
Depending on the size of the law practice, several options may be needed. For example:
- Directors and officers – this insures the actions of corporate officers who make mistakes and are also those guilty of misconduct.
- Combination policies – some insurers offer packages which combine general liability with professional liability.
- Liability limits – you can choose to have a few hundred thousand dollars or several million dollars of coverage, depending upon your risk factors.
Where Can I Get the Best Lawyers Professional Liability Insurance?
If you are practicing in the State of Tennessee, you can trust an independent agency like Veritas Risk Management. We are an independent agency with access to some of the top insurers in the state. In fact, our carriers currently insure more than 160,000 lawyers. To learn more you can fill out our quote form and we’ll contact you or you can call us at (423) 292-4142 today.
