Do you have insurance for all the risks you and your law firm face? Many lawyers do not. Legal professional liability coverage is common these days, as lawyers attempt to mitigate the risk of third-party claims. But some claims may not be covered. Neither professional liability, business owners or general liability insurance policies typically cover most cyber incidents. For this reason, lawyers must often seek out specific coverages that can protect against their risks.
Here’s a quick summary of what these coverages protect against and how to take action to minimize your exposure.
What Does Legal Professional Liability Protect Against?
Legal professional liability insurance is a critical piece of protection for today’s attorneys. Also known as malpractice insurance, professional liability is designed to cover the cost of certain legal fees, judgements and settlements resulting from claims and litigation brought against you for the services you provide.
Lawyers benefit from professional liability protection in many situations. Family law, real estate, personal injury and estate, trust and probate matters have a high frequency of claims. However, litigation impacts nearly all areas of practice, including niche practice areas such as insurance defense and immigration.
Regular activities you perform every day could result in a costly lawsuit due to a mistake, negligence or even the appearance of a mistake or negligence. Activities such as document preparation, filing, commencement action and professional advice are commonly cited.
Even as litigation experts, lawyers are vulnerable. Dealing with your own malpractice lawsuit is costly, stressful and time consuming. Lawyers also face a higher risk of being sued than many other professions, and the stakes can be high with lawyers’ conduct held to a high standard.
What Does Cyber Liability Protect Against?
Cyber liability is also becoming more important as lawyers enter a new Roaring Twenties full of cyber risks. Cyber liability is designed to cover the cost of dealing with increasingly common cyber incidents, such as privacy breaches, computer system disruptions, malware, ransomware and more.
These common cyber events can damage, lock up or erase valuable company data, expose the private information of both employees and clients, lead to a partial or complete interruption of business operations, and steal funds electronically from a business, its employees or its clients. Negative press, third-party lawsuits and regulatory scrutiny typically follow a significant cyber incident.
Yet due to the unique nature of the legal profession, lawyers face some cyber risks that other business sectors do not. Obligations to exercise due diligence, protect attorney-client privilege and safeguard technical systems and data can lead to a lawsuit and ethics inquiry when lawyers fall short. ABA Model Rules 1.6 and 1.15 are commonly brought up in cyber-rated claims.
Some past cyber attacks on firms show that small firms are just as likely to be targeted as large ones, with exposure of juvenile law or criminal defense files being just as vulnerable to exposure as the case files of famous clients. Other attacks reveal that potential impacts can range from losing access to email to being forced to close for a week.
How Can I Get a Quote for Both?
You can always purchase individual insurance policies from different companies, but this is rarely ideal. You may end up with a coverage gap where neither policy covers your loss, or overlapping coverage that’s wasteful and more expensive than it needs to be. There’s also the hassle of having to deal with double quotes, double policies and double renewals. A singular source for all your insurance needs is ideal, if you can find one.
Luckily, the Lockton Affinity Lawyer Insurance Program is designed to offer the kind of comprehensive coverage today’s lawyers and their firms need. Attorneys can work with one expert and get the Professional Liability and Cyber Liability they need — along with any other important coverages, such as Business Owners, Employment Practices Liability, Workers’ Compensation and more.
Why Choose Lockton Affinity Lawyer?
Lockton Affinity Lawyer is part of the world’s largest privately held insurance brokerage, allowing us to be more flexible and creative than many others. We have access to a variety of carriers, including markets exclusive to us and other specialized and hard-to-place markets.
When you become a client with us, you’ll discover we offer a free consultative look at your current risk profile that costs nothing and may be able to save you money, plus we are a one-stop-shop for all your business insurance needs, including legal malpractice, cyber and more.
Complete our 5-minute price indication request to take the next step and ensure your firm has the Professional Liability and Cyber Liability coverage you need.