View this article online: https://www.insurancejournal.com/blogs/worldwide-facilities-llc/2021/04/27/611450.htm
This post is part of a series sponsored by Worldwide Facilities, an Amwins Company.
In November 2020, attendees of the Professional Liability Underwriting Society’s first-ever virtual conference warned insurance brokers they should expect agency errors and omissions (E&O) claims to substantially increase in size and frequency in 2021. In this special market report, we’ll look at how COVID-19 has been the catalyst for propelling the uptick in E&O claims activity and severity, what it means in an already hard insurance market, the impact on brokers, and what they can expect over the next few months.
When we look at claim trends, there is generally a 12-24 month lag time from when the exposure occurred to when E&O claims are filed. In fact, as history has demonstrated, it’s not uncommon for the industry to experience a surge in E&O allegations against brokers several months or even a year or more after a catastrophic event. The reason? Once a major crisis has passed and people’s lives begin to normalize, high volumes of claims typically enter the final stages of processing. At that time, insureds are more likely to contact their broker with tough questions, such as what their policies will and won’t cover and addressing specifics regarding claim settlements and denials — all of which can trigger E&O allegations.
We recently passed the first-year anniversary of the onset of COVID-19 in the U.S. As recovery efforts slowly get underway, and based on lagging indicators from past crisis events, experts predict the bulk of initial first-party claims will begin to funnel through the claims process over the next several months. As final settlement determinations are made, carriers are anticipating a swarm of new E&O claims — perhaps even more than have occurred in the past. Why? Mainly because unlike notable crisis events such as hurricanes Katrina or Sandy, the pandemic wasn’t limited to a single geographical location. This, coupled with emerging pandemic-related coverage and claims scenarios that the industry doesn’t typically experience, has prompted multiple allegations from policyholders against their brokers and, in some cases, from brokers against their agents. According to MyNewMarkets, allegations against agents for E&O claims commonly include a failure to procure (or a misrepresentation of) coverage, not processing claims in a timely manner, and a failure to properly identify exposures and recommend appropriate coverages. For carriers that underwrite high volumes of E&O insurance, COVID-19-related E&O claims are likely to be attributed to brokers allegedly failing to advise insureds as to what their current policy won’t cover as well as not recommending coverage that policyholders should have been advised to purchase. Currently, the main COVID-19 E&O issue is primarily property-driven, with a focus on business interruption-related litigation claims against brokers, along with other operational coverage concerns.
As of March, businesses in the U.S. have filed nearly 1,500 COVID-19-related lawsuits challenging insurers that denied business interruption and other property damage claims, according to the UPenn Litigation Tracker.
For the insurance industry, hard market conditions have been a catalyst for carriers to raise premiums, avoid certain risks, reduce coverage limits and increase exclusions. Historically, these conditions have also increased claims litigation and denials, leading to a higher number of E&O claims against brokers. Today’s combination of hard market conditions and COVID-19 is creating even more challenges as pandemic-related exclusions, limits and supplemental applications are being added to nearly every line of business — including E&O insurance. These factors have put brokers in a situation where they’ll need to communicate new policy changes to clients who are already frustrated by COVID- 19 restrictions, and this also can increase the likelihood of a professional liability claim.
Today’s combination of hard market conditions and COVID-19 is creating even more challenges as pandemic-related exclusions, limits and supplemental applications are being added to nearly every line of business — including E&O insurance.
The Agents & Brokers E&O snowball is rolling downhill and may get even bigger over the next several months as limits, terms and conditions of Agency E&O policies are put to the test. While it can’t be stopped, brokers who understand what may lie ahead will be in a better position to address some of the tougher concerns of their clients, including whether no coverage exists or coverage is insufficient. The bottom line is that it’s impossible to avoid all E&O issues. However, a risk management plan that includes a comprehensive E&O insurance coverage program that is placed by a Broker specializing in the space helps minimize the financial impact of a lawsuit alleging an Error and/or Omission by Agents & Brokers.
STEVE VALLONE
Senior Vice President & Broker
Direct: (415) 625-1277 | Cell: (925) 588-9250
steve.vallone@amwins.com
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