If you have renewed a professional liability policy before, you already know the basic process. No matter your carrier, it’s the same every year.
First, you receive an email or other type of notification of the upcoming policy renewal. Within the notification there are instructions on how to renew your policy, where to access your renewal application, and when to complete it by.
As a Renewal Account Executive, I often receive responses from the renewal reminder saying, " no changes", "same as last year", "please provide a quote."
Unfortunately, even if there are no firm changes, an application still needs to be completed. You may be asking yourself, why should I take the time to complete an application when they already have my information on file.
The short answer is, even if the firm hasn't experienced changes, the insurance environment may have, which can impact a renewal application. The application itself may have been updated with new questions that are necessary to providing a policy renewal.
There are a few categories of the application that can have significant impacts on the way the application is reviewed and processed.
Contact information
One of the first items on a renewal application is contact information such as the firm address, phone number, and email. Although none of this information may have changed, it is still required to be reapproved.
Let's say an application is submitted and there are no changes on the firms end, but the county the firm is located has recently undergone a new filing and rating, this will impact the policy renewal pricing.
Although no information on the firms' side has changed, the way the application is reviewed and rated has changed since the previous year. If an application is not completed under new rating procedures then the firm will not receive an appropriate review with an adequate premium.
Areas of Practice
Submitting a renewal application is especially important when addressing the firm’s area of practice (AOP). Much like the contact information, areas of practice may undergo statewide rate changes, therefore even if the firm’s areas of practice and percentages of each are the same, the rate adjustments may completely change the application.
For example, you may only have three listed areas of practice, Criminal Defense, Family Law, and Real Estate Residential. Criminal Defense is referenced at 20%, Family Law 20%, Real Estate Residential 60%. The application may be submitted with no altercations, but if the rating for Real Estate has shifted and this category makes up the majority of the firm's work. Then the AOP rates will be calculated differently, impacting the premium.
Additional Coverage Offerings
Besides any of the previously referenced changes, the application itself may have changed. It could require additional questions to be answered or include alternate answers to old questions.
One specific example is when additional coverage options are offered. The renewal application may include a question along the lines of " Are you interested in Cyber coverage?" So, when an attorney states, "no changes," or "same as last year," perhaps there have been no firm changes, but the attorney may not be aware of the additional options being presented to them. If no renewal application is completed, additional coverage options go unacknowledged and are missed.
The renewal application is the best place for both attorneys and carriers to review, make changes and consider new or alternate coverage options. A yearly review of the application helps attorneys stay current with their policy and understand any changes to their policy or firm profile. On the other hand, the yearly renewal helps carriers provide each of their insureds with the appropriate rates and coverage.
Although the renewal application may seem tedious and may be, at times, frustrating, it is essential to maintaining professional liability coverage.
Policy Renewals With Protexure
As an insured with Protexure Lawyers, we will inform you when your policy is set for renewal and will guide you through the process before your renewal comes to pass.
At Protexure Lawyers, we are constantly updating and upgrading our application to provide the most efficient and helpful renewal platform available.
Protexure Lawyers strives to make the renewal process as effortless as possible. Currently, our renewal application is prefilled with the information the firm previously provided. All the insured needs to do is review the application and confirm the pre-filled information is correct. Once the renewal application is completed, the insured is able to bind for coverage effortlessly.
Our job is to keep your liability insurance up-to-date and protect your interests in the event of a claim. Additionally, we are available to answer any questions you may have about your policy throughout the year.
Our team is comprised of insurance professionals with one common goal, to renew your policy in a fraction of the time it takes the other guys.
