dshockley
(David W. Shockley)
May 18, 2011, 4:09pm
1
Had the same $1,000,000 E & O coverage for 5 or 6 years same company costs me around $2500 a year. Never had a claim. My deductible is currently $5000 and is going to be raised to $6200 when i renew in September. My insurance rep tells me that the deductible needs to stay high because people are more inclined to sue you if they know you have insurance. Most people won’t bother pursuing you if you dont have any insurance, his exact words. Asked about lowering the e and o coverage and he says it has to match the million I have in general liability. Last, if I change insurance companies all of the inspections I have done over the years under their insurance are only covered for 60 days. So if someone were to sue me for a problem a year ago I would not be covered.
I need some advice, dont want to stay with this company.
Thanks guys
evandeven
(Eric Van De Ven, CMI)
May 18, 2011, 4:48pm
2
Never had it and never needed it for the last 17 years. I don’t have it for the very reason he gave you. The “Bullseye” factor.
rcooke
(Roy D. Cooke, Sr)
May 18, 2011, 5:47pm
3
Had insurance for first three years not since not been needed …Yet. 12 years
belliott
(Bob Elliott, 450.0002662)
May 18, 2011, 7:21pm
4
dshockley:
Had the same $1,000,000 E & O coverage for 5 or 6 years same company costs me around $2500 a year. Never had a claim. My deductible is currently $5000 and is going to be raised to $6200 when i renew in September. My insurance rep tells me that the deductible needs to stay high because people are more inclined to sue you if they know you have insurance. Most people won’t bother pursuing you if you dont have any insurance, his exact words. Asked about lowering the e and o coverage and he says it has to match the million I have in general liability. Last, if I change insurance companies all of the inspections I have done over the years under their insurance are only covered for 60 days. So if someone were to sue me for a problem a year ago I would not be covered.
I need some advice, dont want to stay with this company.
Thanks guys
For 60 days.
Very enlightening.
jbushart
(James H. Bushart)
May 18, 2011, 7:24pm
5
From a very well known Massachusetts home inspector…
E&O is falsely regarded as homebuyer protection and inspector protection. I had a claim against me several years ago for mold inside the walls of a 13 month old house. The initial law suit was for $250,000. Since I cannot see inside walls and since the Standards of Practice in my former home state of MA, exclude being responsible for reporting on mold, I asked the defense attorney to ask for a summary judgement.
The defense attorney told me that the request got turned down. I never pursued checking with the court to see if this request was actually made. But since the defense attorney had a vested interest in keeping the case alive, I now have my doubts.
This case dragged on for few years and the defense attorney racked up over $65,000 in billable hours. When the case got close to a court date, I received a letter from my insurance company that although they were covering my legal expenses, they were not going to cover any damages for mold.
The suing party, the defense attorney and myself agreed to go into mediation. I figured if a reasonable person heard the facts of the case they would agree with me that it had no merrit. The mediator was a retired judge doing the mediation gig for over $400 per hour.
When I explained the case to him, he said “Dennis, it doesn’t make any difference whether you are right or wrong, if this case goes to trial the jury will want someone to pay for the plaintiff’s suffering and expenses.”
Since there was more than one defendent in this case (5 in total) the mediator recommended that I offer $12,000 to settle my connection to the case. I wanted to pursue a jury trial to plead my case, but the insurance company said if I didn’t settle, they would not cover my legal expenses of the court proceedings or any damage awards.
I finally agreed to the settlement. A week after my $1500 deductable was satisfied, my insurance company cancelled my policy and made it difficult and expensive to find other company. E&O is a license requirement in MA, otherwise I would not carry E&O.
If I did not have E&O in the above situation, the legal proceedings would have been very short and inexpensive. The initial law suit was for $250,000. The plaintiff’s attorney knew that was the minimun amout of insurance that I was required to have by the state.
Talk about conflicts of interest. A state government made up of mostly lawyers, passing a law requiring you to purchase E&O and defense lawyers with motivation to drag cases on and get a steady stream of money from the insurance company.
belliott
(Bob Elliott, 450.0002662)
May 18, 2011, 7:36pm
6
That steady stream of money is not from the insurance agency.
Talk about tin hats and crazies but the fact is there are many conspiratorial plots when it comes to big business and money.
Insurance guy and Lawyer (raise rates) (drag out court suit) Higher rates = more money for Insurance company and more money for Lawyers to hit it rich.
I can only imagine how much is earned in kickbacks under the table.
bhoagland
(Brian C. Hoagland)
May 19, 2011, 12:40am
7
dshockley:
Had the same $1,000,000 E & O coverage for 5 or 6 years same company costs me around $2500 a year. Never had a claim. My deductible is currently $5000 and is going to be raised to $6200 when i renew in September. My insurance rep tells me that the deductible needs to stay high because people are more inclined to sue you if they know you have insurance. Most people won’t bother pursuing you if you dont have any insurance, his exact words. Asked about lowering the e and o coverage and he says it has to match the million I have in general liability. Last, if I change insurance companies all of the inspections I have done over the years under their insurance are only covered for 60 days. So if someone were to sue me for a problem a year ago I would not be covered.
I need some advice, dont want to stay with this company.
Thanks guys
I’m curious did you find a clause in the contract that bears out that 60 day limitation on their liability on future claims incurred during your period of insurance?