Texas E&O, 250K for $850

[Emmanuel J. Scanlan]

Has anyone else received the quotes yet and like to share??

[John McKenna]

Originally Posted by gromicko

I'll have an announcement in a few days but let's just say that if the ASHI guys knew who they've been buying their insurance from, they'd all commit suicide .

Got to love it...

[Bruce Thompson]

Originally Posted by escanlan

Has anyone else received the quotes yet and like to share??

On page 6 I mentioned the one I went with at $1755 for a 100/500. CH Insurance using a Lexington policy.

http://www.nachi.org/cheo2006.htm

These people http://globeresources.net/ gave a quote of $1972 for 100/100 from the very same company "Lexington"

Both of the above have a $2500 deductible.

I called several companies using Lexington and all were in the $1700-$2100 range.

The other companies listed in the NACHI mall gave me quotes (or I read them on their websites) that were in the $3000 range.

[Emmanuel J. Scanlan]

Bruce,

Thanks for sharing! This only helps the rest of our members, and others reading, to see what else is offered out there. It is a good example that there are policies out there that are reaching affordable level.

Can you tell us why you chose the policy that you did? Each person has their needs and the Allstate policy, or others, may not have met your needs.

I'll be happy to share why the Allstate policy is very appealing to me.

1. No doubt the cost is very appealing.
2. Others may feel a need for the referral endorsement but I really have no desire to pay for coverage of others that have nothing to fear if they did nothing wrong. Besides, most others insurance premiums are already significantly lower than what we can obtain.
3. The policy will cover my company, myself and any subcontractors I use. Think of the possibilities!!
4. The policy covers residential and commercial with no distinction between levels of commercial inspections.
5. The policy covers any type of inspection I do.
6. The policy covers pools/spas, etc., etc. with exceptions basically of fungi and WDO and WDI inspections which no other policy covers anyhow.
7. The policy is approximately 6 pages of fairly plain wording versus the fifty to ninety page, confusing, tongue twisting policies I have seen. It is clear what the coverage is and isn't.
8. The entire policy is based on the premise that they have "The Duty To Defend" you first and only after you have been "Proven" guilty of wrongdoing will the defense stop and you will be required to pay them back. Check your policies as many are based on the premise of "Guilty Until Proven Innocent". The underwriter will not defend you if allegations of grossly negligent or criminal activity are brought against you. Later on if you can prove your innocence, and you have the money to defend yourself in the first place, only then will the underwriter allow you to request from them payment from your policy.
9. This policy does not force you to agree to any settlement. You have an option to continue fighting on your own dime. The underwriter will stop their defense payment at that time and issue you a check for the amount of the settlement they agreed to with the litigant and you are free to continue. This is clearly and plainly spelled out in the policy. Other underwriters are forcing you to settle or they reserve the right to withdraw entirely and let you handle everything including any settlement.

I can certainly go on and on as there are other good points. I am not making a single dime off of this Allstate policy and am not trying to sell anyone on it. I am just amazed that finally an underwriter has stepped up to the plate for Inspectors.

Has anyone else received a quote lately they would like to share??

[Michael R. Boyett]

Bruce, I've updated my spreadsheet with the preliminary data you provided above. I'd like to be able to include all of the line items so we can compare apples to apples if you are willing to share those. The main items not included for your two quotes include what is included/excluded in the policy, taxes & fees (which can be significant), and any possible payment methods. If you want to share those then you can update the spreadsheet and send it to me or just list those items and costs in an e-mail and I'll include them.
EO_Insurance.zip

[Michael R. Boyett]

Originally Posted by escanlan

The entire policy is based on the premise that they have "The Duty To Defend" you first and only after you have been "Proven" guilty of wrongdoing will the defense stop and you will be required to pay them back.

OK, I'm showing my E&O ignorance here but are you saying that some carriers require reimbursement of defense expenses if a judge/jury were to find in favor of the plaintiff? Or is that only in the case of one being found guilty of fraud or illegal behavior?

[John Onofrey]

Great work guys. Manny, I like the Allstate quote also.

[Nolan Kienitz]

State Farm also offers E&O.

$1M for under $2100

[Michael R. Boyett]

Nolan, if you would like to share the details of your State Farm policy then consider filling in a column on my spreadsheet and send back to me at borntxn@hotmail.com . I'm assuming that is your policy or a quote you've received from them as those are what I'd like to include, not just hearsay.

[Frank M. Carrio, CMI]

Quote: Originally Posted by escanlan:
The entire policy is based on the premise that they have "The Duty To Defend" you first and only after you have been "Proven" guilty of wrongdoing will the defense stop and you will be required to pay them back. [End Quote]
Please list the carrier that has this in their policy so that I can stay away from them.


[quote=mboyett]
OK, I'm showing my E&O ignorance here but are you saying that some carriers require reimbursement of defense expenses if a judge/jury were to find in favor of the plaintiff?
I guess that you and I read this and came to the same conclusion. I hope that this is not so.

Or is that only in the case of one being found guilty of fraud or illegal behavior?[End /quote]
Mike,
If true ... This "Clause" is both disgusting and amazing! This E & O Carrier has a "win win" situation. They charge you for E&O and if they lose then you have to pay them back!
WOW!

[Emmanuel J. Scanlan]

Frank, Mike,

You actually have good valid arguments and I will try to explain them better than I did above. I will use the Allstate and FREA policy wording and I certainly hope Ben Garrison from FREA jumps in to correct any of this interpretation if they feel I have it incorrect. I am certainly not a lawyer but reading the FREA policy, all 30+ exclusions and 35+ various endorsements for various states and other exceptions, the phrase "The devil is in the details" surely came home there. If you want to review it yourself please ask Ben Garrison for the policy and request an Allstate quote. You can take it to your attorney and have them read it over. Hopefully your lawyer doesn't charge by the hour!!

Paying back the carrier was a reference to if you are proven guilty of criminal charges and not normal E&O situations. The policy wording difference between Allstate and FREA is 180 degrees out from each other and that is what I was referring to with "Innocent until proven guilty" and "Guilty until proven innocent". We will use a very common consumer complaint as an example of the differences between the two policies. Whether it is HI or some other service business when consumers sue they make multiple claims of wrongdoing. One of the most common seems to be fraudulently representing your services, i.e. advertising you will do one thing but then not duing it. The consumer likes to claim they chose you because you did that "one thing". Or they may claim you fraudulently represented your abilities, experiences, etc.

No insurance company/underwriter is going to pay for your defense if these charges are true, not even the Allstate policy. I don't believe any will defend you against the appropriate law enforcement authorities bringing charges against you. The difference between the Allstate and FREA policy is that the Allstate policy will immediately start defending or paying for the defense and will only stop if the fraud charges are true and proven by competent authority to be true. That basically means you would have to be convicted of the charges. When that happens Allstate will stop your defense and naturally require you to pay them back for all money spent. Let's face it, if you knew you were defrauding someone you took a chance and should pay for it!!

The FREA policy on the other hand runs off of allegations and not proven fact. FREA's wording is such that they have the right to refuse defense if fraud is alleged by the litigant, but not necessarily proven. Will they refuse to defend you even though it is in the policy? I certainly would not want to find that out when it happens. But FREA does reserve that right to refuse defense. Later on in your defense against the consumer complaint, if you win or at least prove it was not fraud, then FREA will allow you to tap your policy to recoup the money you spent defending yourself.

What you need to look at is do you have the money right from the beginning to defend yourself if this situation arises? Isn't insurance suppose to be there for you so you can maintain your sanity, continue your business and not worry about where you will obtain the money for a lawsuit? Also, how happy do you think a litigants attorney will be when they hear that your E&O carrier is stepping out of the picture right from the beginning?

Again, if this is not FREA's intention with the wording in their policy then maybe they will offer a better explanation of their policy here for all to see. I have asked them questions about their policy and was actually responded to by their General Counsel, but they have not answered my direct questions.
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[Bruce Thompson]

Originally Posted by mboyett

Bruce, I've updated my spreadsheet with the preliminary data you provided above. I'd like to be able to include all of the line items so we can compare apples to apples if you are willing to share those. The main items not included for your two quotes include what is included/excluded in the policy, taxes & fees (which can be significant), and any possible payment methods. If you want to share those then you can update the spreadsheet and send it to me or just list those items and costs in an e-mail and I'll include them.
Attachment 15799

I don't have the binder yet from CH Insurance, but I do know that light commercial was acceptable. They didn't include WDI, Mold, but I'm thinking pools were OK.

Includes $50K AD&D, referral endorse, multi-inspectors.

I don't have as much from Globe b/c I didn't go with them. I'll send you what I have.

[Michael R. Boyett]

OK, here's the latest revision of the E&O spreadsheet. Remember, page one is by company, page two is by policy/premium amount. Thanks to those of you that were willing to share your data. Try: EO_Insurance.zip

Here's the same data in .pdf format, pgs 1-3 are by company, pgs 4-6 are by amt: EO_Insurance.pdf

[Jack R. Robnett]

Michael

Thats a great spreadsheet! Thanks for all of the hard work.

[John McKenna]

Thank Michael