Article by Pierre Marais: CEO of RSUM Liability Specialists
Make sure you heed the sound advice, from respected industry brokers, when it comes Liability Insurance stresses Pierre Marais, CEO of RSUM Liability Specialists.
There is at present a trend in Liability, also known as Casualty Insurance, which is of grave concern to me as an Underwriter. It is obvious that we are living and working in economically difficult times, COVID has made its mark, and the war in Ukraine, albeit it 12 000 km away, is having an enormous affect too.
However , what is of concern to me, is the increase in claims, and the sources of those claims. During my training sessions, I use the analogy, that Liability Underwriter’s offices are in the dark, wet, and murky underground cellars of the company they work for, implying our intentions are not good.
The increase in claims is mainly from two sources.
- Those (Customers) who were poorly advised by a broker
- The Insured who chose to take their cover the way it was structured by the Insured, ignoring good advice, or being forced, because of their financial situation, to take the decision they did
Both the above scenarios, result in a claim that is repudiated, which results in our, the insurers, being blamed for not wanting to pay the claim.
There is a current case in point, which I would like to share with you, which finds us defending a Professional Indemnity claim made against our insured. The Insurer elected to repudiate the claim based on reasons which when challenged, have no basis or merit. It is a simple case for the Ombud deciding in favour of the insured and against the Insurer.
The Insured elected to invest in legal proceedings, at great cost, with no assurance of a positive outcome. It is incomprehensible as to why the claim was repudiated by the Insurer, and why the insured elected to go the costly legal route, where the Ombud would have ruled in their favour.
We can’t stress the point enough, that Insureds need to make their decisions based on sound advice from respected industry intermediaries who have the expertise and knowledge, to guide them along the very difficult path, called Liability Insurance.
It is also the Insureds responsibility to provide clear, honest, and detailed information for the Insurer to understand their business and able to provide guidance and terms to the broker to ensure that the risk is correctly insured.
Liability Insurance is a complex risk to cover and needs to be treated with great respect.
~ Article written for firstEquity Professional Liability, by Pierre Marais, CEO, RSUM Liability Specialists
