With a fortnight passed since the 1st October renewal deadline (for the majority of practices), hopefully you will be breathing easier with your firm's PII policy in place for another year. This shouldn't be the time when you simply switch back to 'business as normal' however. Your PII is not simply a couple of months a year issue that you 'set and forget' – it is simply one representation of your wider risk-management philosophy.
In the aftermath of renewal is an ideal time to set a strategy for the forthcoming year, and identify some action plan priorities.
Here's 5 Reminders to help you keep on track:
1. Your relationship with your broker is important
Your broker should NOT be someone that you have a once a year relationship with, nor should your broker be simply a sales agent. With Lockton, you have the benefit of a specialist team dedicated to serving the needs of solicitor clients. We are looking to make sure that we are providing you with a service that you need and value. Our post-renewal feedback survey will be coming out in a few weeks, once all insurance policy documents have been issued.
Your feedback really does matter to us, and we would like you to take the 3 or 4 minutes require to tell us what matters to you, and what we do well, and where we need to do better. As an incentive we are offering prizes of a Fortum & Masons Hamper, and a half-day's Risk Management Consultancy to suit your needs.
2. Reviewing your PII Premium
Has your premium gone up this year, or decreased? Were you happy with the result? Did you think it fairly reflected your risk profile?
Having a debrief on your PII renewal is important. Understanding why you got the result you did (good or bad) is a prerequisite for working towards a good result at future renewals.
Lockton produce benchmarking reports for clients each Spring. These provide a great opportunity to measure your performance against your peers on a range of measures. But particularly if you have a difficult claims experience, or undertake a significant percentage of high/very high risk work, now is the time to start planning how to improve your risk profile.
We can help. Our range of online risk management resources provide a starting point to help you implement improved systems and procedures. We can also provide more tailored risk management consultancy where required. Speak to your broker for more details.
3. Claims & Complaints
Not only should claims & potential claims be intimated as promptly as possible, and on a precautionary principle, it is also necessary to keep good records of them. This is not just to meet SRA reporting requirements, but also so that trends can be effectively monitored over time. We recommend that firms keep fairly detailed notes regarding claims and complaints as this enables meaningful analysis at management meetings. We can assist you by providing a reporting template to use.
Even where you intimate claims to the insurer direct, rather than via Lockton, please do keep your Lockton Account Executive advised of any large claims, or claims that suddenly increase in reserve. Do not leave this to a month or two before renewal – as that may well not leave enough time for the matter to be properly addressed.
Not sure what to intimate or when? Log in to the site to read our guidance note for more information.
4. Training
We are starting to put together our events schedule for the forthcoming year. Last year, you said that, more than anything, you wanted training on Property risk issues. We presented more than 10 webinars and seminars across the country on Residential and Commercial Property risks in response to that. Let us know your training priorities for 2015- and we will see if we can address those in our schedule for the coming year.
5. Changes to your practice
If you are contemplating any changes to your practice – whether adding a new team, moving into a new area of work, merging with another practice, becoming an ABS, or even looking to retire – get in touch with us early. While insurance shouldn't be the driver of any decision you make, there will be insurance implications that you will want to take into account. We are here to help make your business work better for you – and ensure that your business decisions don't bring any unwanted consequences. So just drop your Account Executive an email or pick up the phone at the earliest possible opportunity.