May 2020 | Volume 32, Number 5
Have no fear, although the Big I NY Annual Errors & Omissions Loss Control Seminars will not be able to be presented live this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the presentations will still go on! This year, the annual E&O seminars will be presented virtually as webinars in order to allow you to get your continuing education credit and also receive a discount on your E&O policy, while still social distancing. If you are interested in attending the upcoming E&O webinars, please contact Big I NY and register. As usual, during the annual presentation we will provide important information regarding the trends and key issues that all New York insurance agents and brokers should be aware of. And of course, we will also address some of the various legal and regulatory issues that New York insurance agents and brokers should be aware of related to the coronavirus.
As usual, this year's annual E&O presentations will be presented by me, Jim Keidel, along with my partner, Chris Weldon. In addition, as we have done for the past few years, Brian Bixby, the President of IIAC, Inc., will join us in presenting the webinars. The webinars will be presented on May 12th, 14th, 28th and 29th. During each of the dates when the webinar is presented, Chris Weldon, Brian Bixby and I will be available to answer any questions that anyone may have that arise during the presentation. The webinar this year will be a three-hour presentation that qualifies for 3.0 continuing education credits for all New York licenses.
Depending on its size, and the number of people who attend the webinar, an agency or brokerage could qualify for as much as a 15.0 percent premium credit if it is insured through IAAC with Westport Insurance Corporation or up to 10 percent with Allianz Insurance Company.
In addition to receiving continuing education credit and premium credits, as usual webinar attendees will learn essential and practical E&O loss control techniques that can help reduce the likelihood of an E&O claim or lawsuit. During the webinar 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 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 additionally will frequently enable the agency or brokerage to sell more insurance.
During this year's annual presentation, some of the topics that we will cover include the following:
- A review of the law affecting property and casualty and life and health insurance agents and brokers
- An analysis of the statistics concerning trends in E&O matters
- The various forms of documentation that are regularly used by an agency or brokerage
- Case studies of five actual E&O matters
- The legal standard of care for insurance agents and brokers in New York and various other states
- Considerations related to the professional liability coverage maintained by an insurance agency or brokerage
Last year approximately 1,000 insurance agents and brokers attended the Big I NY annual E&O seminars. We encourage all New York insurance agents and brokers to register as soon as possible for this year's webinar. You can register for the annual Big I NY E&O presentation by visiting the education section of the Big I NY web site at https://www.biginy.org or calling Big I NY at 800-851-8853.
We are looking forward to this year's annual E & O webinars and we hope that all of you will be able to attend one of the scheduled sessions. Look on the bright side, you can now attend the annual presentation from the comfort of your own home or office and not have to deal with traffic to get to the presentation. Every New York insurance agent or broker should be sure to join us!
Click a date below to register:
May 12, 2020
9:00am - 12:00pm
May 14, 2020
9:00am - 12:00pm
May 28, 2020
9:00am - 12:00pm
May 29, 2020
9:00am - 12:00pm
Submitted by:
James C. Keidel, Esq.
Keidel, Weldon & Cunningham, LLP
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.