Professional Liability Insurance Renewal: 6 Tips to Save You Money This Time

Jul. 5, 2016

Avoid that claim denial

Insurance Companies have tightened up reporting requirements for possible claims. If you want to have coverage for that circumstance when it later turns into an actual claim, report the incident immediately to your insurance company before your policy renews.

Be smart about aggregate limits

The chances of having two total limit losses in the same policy year is very, very...very small. Instead of paying for an aggregate limit that you probably will never need, like $2,000,000/ $5,000,000, look into the costs of increasing your per claim limit or buying claim expenses in addition to the limit. 60% or more of every claim dollar paid out goes to the cost of defense leaving that much less available to pay an actual judgment or settlement.

Your insurance company doesn’t want you to know this about the competition and what you can do about it

There is at least one company that offers a deductible abatement fund that rewards your claim free status and customer loyalty by crediting up to $2,500 per year towards your deductible. As your pool of deductible savings dollars grows, you can opt for a higher deductible amount at renewal and lower your annual premium, not to mention that the insurance company is funding all or a good part of your deductible should you have a claim.

Revenue spike?

Reportable revenue can be averaged over the last several years to ease the impact of an ‘A’-typical year caused by an unusually large fee not expected to repeat. Just tell the company that you are doing so.

Report additions and deletions of licensed professionals midterm

The carrier will then be able to accurately account for the change in your auto-billed renewal premium. Losing a seasoned professional that has been with the firm for many years and replacing he or she with a new associate could lower premiums for everyone by reducing the overall prior acts step factor for all professionals combined.

Keep track of your average annual premium cost per professional

At the same limit and deductible, note the difference in the average premium charged per professional from one year to the next. Does the resulting difference make sense given the overall change in the firm’s exposures? If not, ask for a premium review and an explanation for the change in the average premium per professional. Carriers will generally be reasonable and reduce a premium to retain a good customer.

Remember these tips the next time your professional liability insurance policy is due to renew. Better yet, let the licensed insurance professionals at LiabilityPro Insurance Advisors act as your advocate at renewal. We’ll work with you to analyze your current insurance to find coverage that best fit your needs. All of this is done at no cost to you.

Please complete our short form premium request questionnaire. We’ll use that information along with information from your web page to complete an application for your review and signature.

Author

Cindy Wiedman, founded Wiedman Insurance Services, LLC (LiabilityPro Insurance Advisors*) August 1, 2014. Cindy is a Registered Professional Liability Underwriter (RPLU) and has designed and administered professional liability insurance programs over a 35-year career working for various insurance administrators in the Midwest such as Shand Morahan & Company, Kirke Van Orsdel, Marsh and Lockton Affinity.

*Currently working with investment advisory businesses domiciled in Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, Illinois and Nebraska.