On the other hand, small businesses and individuals might want the convenience of having the insurer defend the claim;
• Hammer clauses – some insurers give the insured the right to refuse a settlement offer acceptable to the insurer, but the hammer clause typically states that the insurer will not pay more than the amount it could have settled for, including defense costs. Thus, the insured could pay a penalty for exercising its right of refusal;
•;Punitive;damages;–;not;all;insurers cover punitive damages, but these can be the biggest part of an award, so coverage is highly desirable, if not imperative;
•;Defense;costs;–;defense;costs;within the policy limits can eat up coverage before a case is even resolved; provision of defense costs in addition to policy limits is preferable.
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Your insureds may not be aware of the liability they incur when they start a blog or Web site. You should ask about their Internet presence, so that you can provide the right insurance advice. Not asking may lead to an errors and omissions suit later on.
There are approximately 420 members throughout 33 states, with several members in Massachusetts, California and New York. Trustees include John Donohue of Arbella Insurance Group, Daniel J. Johnston of the Automobile Insurers Bureau, agents Nancy Z. Bender and Josiah Hatch, Paula Gold of Plymouth Rock Assurance Corporation, Jack Golembeski of the Massachusetts Property Insurance Underwriting Association and several other insurance professionals.
The membership is mostly comprised of law firms and insurance agents and brokers, but insurance companies are a small slice of the membership, Lucey commented. The Library lists the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, other associations and risk managers as some of its other members.
Each year, the Library presents its “Insurance Professional of the Year” award, which usually garners about 350 attendees. 2009’s award went to Dick Brewer, the president and chief executive officer of ProMutual.
The Library primarily serves as a ref-
erence for attorneys. Lucy said often
the questions that come in are regard-
ing specific forms from decades ago
– “What did ISO mean when they
added this CGL policy in 1966?” she
said. “We never throw out the old
manual pages.”
The Library also indexes about 90
different journals so that they are
searchable via keywords or compa-
ny names.
Other questions submitted to the Library regularly include definitions of terms from certain insurance companies, such as the difference between “unoccupied” versus “vacant,” and what implications that holds for an insured’s coverage.
As another example, Lucey said, a recent question involved a car that was transporting and goods ended up in a snowbank. The cargo froze – would it be covered under the insured’s policy? The answer ended up being that the policy had an “extremes of temperature exclusion,” but experts found that freezing temperatures were normal in that part of the country during that time of year and were thus not “extreme.”
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The Virtual University, run by the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA), also solicits the Insurance Library for answers to questions on a regular basis, and Lucey estimates she is able to answer about a third of questions that come her way.
BOSTON — The Insurance Library in Boston is one of the only remaining independent insurance libraries in the country, according to Jean Lucey, CPCU, the director of the Library, who spoke at a meeting of the Boston Association of Claims Executives last week.
The Library was founded in 1887, and the original list of subscribers still exists in the library’s possession. The educational program, which still offers classes today, began in 1890 and each year serves around 1,000 students.
Lucey said the library is primarily supported by membership dues.
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