May 2018 | Volume 30, Number 5
In May and June, the Big I NY Annual Errors & Omissions Loss Control Seminars will once again be presented by the law firm of Keidel, Weldon & Cunningham, LLP. As usual, seminars will be presented by me, Jim Keidel, along with my partner, Chris Weldon. In addition, as we have done for the past few years, we will be joined by Brian Bixby, the President of IAAC, Inc. The annual E&O seminars provide important information regarding current trends and legal issues. Agents and brokers can attend the seminars in several different ways. In this issue of the E&O Report, we cover the content of during this year's seminars, discuss when and where the seminars will be presented, and explain the 3 different ways you can attend.
SEMINAR CONTENT
During the past year, we asked in each monthly issue of The E&O Report for Big I NY members to provide issues and topics they would like us to address at the 2018 annual seminars. Based upon the feedback that we received from both Big I NY members and staff, we prepared for the 2018 E&O seminars to include the following:
- A review of the law affecting property and casualty and life and health insurance agents and brokers
- A review of the key elements of the new NY Cyber Regulation and an update on the current status
- Suitability in life insurance and annuity transactions
- New York licensing laws for agents/brokers and agencies and brokerages
- Licensing issues when a producer retires or passes away
- E&O issues and other concerns related to aging insureds
- Effective communication techniques and challenges
- The importance of showing that you care
- What happens if you are involved in an E&O matter or a regulatory matter
- Other issues and topics that Big I NY members requested that we discuss (electronic policy delivery, flood insurance, gaps in coverage and using cost estimators)
- Issues to be considered by an agency/brokerage related to its E&O coverage
HOW TO ATTEND/LOCATIONS
Option 1: A 4.0 credit hour live seminar will be presented at 5 locations across New York State during the month of May. This year we will again start the presentation of the live seminars downstate and then work our way upstate. If you are interested in attending a live seminar, the locations and dates are as follows:
May 15th – Islandia, Long Island
May 16th – New York City
May 17th – Westchester County
May 30th – Buffalo
May 31st – Syracuse
Option 2: In addition to the 5 live seminars mentioned above, on June 6th, a 4.0 credit hour telecast seminar will be presented live from Hudson Valley Community College (HVCC) in Troy, NY and transmitted to 6 locations across New York State. Agents and brokers can either attend the telecast seminar live in Troy, or watch the telecast at any of the 6 remote locations across the state.
Option 3: The telecast seminar will also be broadcast via the web so agents and brokers can attend the seminar by watching it in the comfort of their own offices. Last year was the first time that Big I NY provided agents and brokers with the ability to attend the annual seminar via the web, and the feedback from those who attended this way was great. The June 6th telecast seminar is the same 4.0 credit hour seminar that will be presented live at the 5 locations in May.
PREMIUM CREDITS
Depending on its size and the number of people who attend either the live or telecast seminars, an agency or brokerage may qualify for a 10 percent premium credit if insured through IAAC with Westport Insurance Corporation, or a 7.5-10[1] percent premium credit if insured through IAAC with Fireman's Fund Insurance Company.
THE SEMINAR EXPERIENCE
In addition to receiving continuing education credit and premium credits, seminar attendees will learn essential and practical E&O loss control techniques that can help reduce the likelihood of an E&O claim or lawsuit. At the seminars, we will also review “real life" E&O claims and lawsuits to help illustrate the issues that we are discussing. In our experience, discussing actual claims and cases helps the seminar attendees better understand the impact of following the various E&O loss control practices. When used consistently by agencies and brokerages, these E&O loss control practices will not only reduce the likelihood of an E&O claim or lawsuit, but will also help provide better customer service and frequently enable the agency or brokerage to sell more insurance.
Last year approximately 1,100 insurance agents and brokers attended the live and telecast Big I NY annual E&O seminars. We encourage all New York insurance agents and brokers to register as soon as possible for either a live seminar or the telecast seminar at www.BIGINY.org/eo2018 or by calling Big I NY at 800-851-8853.
We look forward to this year's annual E&O seminars and we hope that all of you will be able to attend one of the scheduled sessions.
Submitted by:
James C. Keidel, Esq.
Keidel, Weldon & Cunningham, LLP
[1] Big I NY members whose E&O coverage is written by Fireman's Fund on the IIABA RPG ProGuard form may qualify for a 10% premium reduction if the required staff attend the annual E&O seminar. Big I NY members whose E&O coverage is written on the non-RPG Form may qualify for a 7.5% premium reduction if they meet the attendance guidelines for the annual E&O seminar.
Keidel, Weldon & Cunningham, LLP concentrates its practice in the defense of insurance agents and broker's errors and omissions claims and litigation, errors and omissions loss control counsel and education, insurance coverage analysis and litigation and insurance regulatory matters. Please direct any comments or questions to James C. Keidel, Esq. by mail to the main office of Keidel, Weldon & Cunningham, LLP, at 925 Westchester Avenue, Suite 400, White Plains, NY 10604, telephone at (914) 948-7000 or e-mail at jkeidel@kwcllp.com. The law firm also maintains offices in Syracuse, New York; New York City, New York; Wilton, Connecticut; Fair Lawn, New Jersey; Warwick, Rhode Island, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Williston, Vermont and Naples, Florida.