Pre-claim assistance is included in most commercially available Professional Liability insurance policies.
If you believe your firm needs claim prevention assistance, you should:
Expect a call from one of our claims professionals and be prepared to:
– Discuss the key issues that are causing concern
– Identify the key project participants, including owner, contractor and any subconsultants’ work that may be at issue
– Provide a copy of your contract for the project and any other relevant contracts, such as subconsultant agreements
– Provide contact information for the key members within your firm
Refrain from taking action without the input from Berkley DP’s claim professionals. Importantly and to avoid jeopardizing your insurance coverage:
– Do not admit liability or assume or agree in writing or verbally that you are at fault
– Do not provide verbal or written statements that will be recorded or transcribed, or a written statement or position letter, unless required by law
– Do not make payments, settle or assume any obligation or incur any expense
– Do not sign or accept any releases, allocations of fault or agree to any binding process to resolve the issues
– Do not make statements such as, “Don’t worry about it, my insurance will take care of it” or “That’s what I have insurance for”
Although we hope you won’t ever have to call your agent at Professional Underwriters regarding project-related concerns, early identification and action on your part may help to avoid or minimize a claim against your firm.