NAHU Members: An Important Message About E&O Insurance

Important NAHU Update

Does everyone in your agency have the errors and omissions protection they need? Are you sure? Are you paying the best price for the coverage you have?  You might be surprised to learn some interesting facts...

Are you paying too much for E&O policies covering individuals in your agency? If more than one person in your agency is covered through separate "agents of" policies or some other means, you may be paying too much for too little coverage. You may be surprised to find that you can cover all your employees and employee producers with an agency policy through NAHU's E&O program, and possibly even at a lesser cost than the multiple agents-of policies. And unlike most agents-of policies, you won't be sharing an agents-of master policy aggregate limit with other agent policyholders.

Do you have your own coverage, or is it issued as an agent of one of the carriers you represent? Many agents-of policies have a master policy aggregate limit maximum. That means that all agents sharing in an agents-of master policy may also be sharing the maximum policy limit with other agents. Losses by other agents or a class action decision may use up the maximum policy limit leaving you and others without coverage.
 
If you are covered through an agents-of policy, you should be aware of the facts and ask yourself these important questions:

» Are you willing to bet on the business practices of everyone covered by that same "agents of" policy that has an aggregate limit?
» What if you stopped representing that carrier – could you take the policy with you or does your coverage end?
» Do you need to meet production requirements in order to be eligible for coverage under your E&O policy? 
» Do you want one of your significant carrier partners involved in the event of a claim?

One of the worst things that can happen in any insurance situation is for someone to think they have coverage they don't actually possess. In our increasingly litigious society, it is more important than ever to have E&O protection.  By participating in the NAHU E&O program through Travelers,* you can be assured your protection is comprehensive and is backed by a company rated A+ by A. M. Best for claims-paying ability.** You can learn more about the program on this Web page, which also includes other beneficial information to help you serve your clients in the most ethical way.

By the way, did you also know that NAHU offers a free ethics course that is approved for continuing education in all 50 states? For more information, go to the education section of NAHU's website.

*Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America and its property casualty affiliates, Hartford, CT** A.M. Best's rating of A+ applies to certain insurance subsidiaries of Travelers that are members of the Travelers Insurance Companies pool; other subsidiaries are included in another rating pool or are separately rated. For a listing of companies rated by A.M. Best and other rating services visit www.travelers.com. Ratings listed herein are as of ¬May 17, 2007, are used with permission, and are subject to changes by the rating services. For the latest rating, visit www.ambest.com.