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Excess Insurance

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Are you worried about a large claim? We help small to medium firms get the excess coverage they need at an affordable price.

Excess insurance is optional and available to lawyers in private practice or on exemption. It provides an additional layer of insurance protection should your defence and indemnity payments exceed the limits of the primary LAWPRO insurance program. Excess insurance is available from LAWPRO and from other insurers in the commercial market.

LAWPRO can provide excess limits that can go as high as $9 million per claim/in the aggregate above the $1 million per claim/$2 million in the aggregate limits provided under the primary program.

Do you need excess insurance? Take Our online test

Premiums

Premiums under the LAWPRO Excess insurance program are underwritten on an individual firm basis, based largely on information you provide in the Excess Liability Insurance application. This includes the nature and size of the firm, individual lawyers’ areas of practice, practice status and the loss exposure of firm members.

Contact us at [email protected] or call 416-598-5899 or 1-800-410-1013 and speak to any of our Program Coordinators to receive a no-obligation estimate. The estimate will be based on existing information in our database such as firm size, practice circumstance, areas of practice, claims experience and other underwriting criteria.

Because Excess insurance is underwritten on a firm basis, the amount of excess coverage is the total pool of funds available for defence costs and indemnity payments for all lawyers in the firm. Lawyers in your firm would have access to their primary coverage of $1 million per claim/$2 million in the aggregate plus the excess pool, if its limits have not been exhausted by claims from other lawyers in your firm.

To apply, complete the Excess Liability Insurance application.

Excess coverage and LLPs

One of the requirements of a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) is that the partners advise clients about the limited extent of their liability within the LLP under the Partnerships Act. Excess insurance is one way for you to be able to reassure clients there is substantial insurance protection, and to protect yourself against excess exposures — for your own professional services, for professional services provided by others under your direct supervision or control, for firm exposures predating the LLP arrangements, and for protection of the LLP firm assets.

Excess coverage and law corporations

Because the traditional protections associated with working in a corporate entity do not exist in a law corporation, lawyers practising in law corporations should consider their full potential exposure to claims and related coverage needs.

LAWPRO Magazine articles about excess coverage

Why Excess insurance? Celebrating 20 years of the Excess program
 
LAWPRO is known for being the insurer for Ontario lawyers’ mandatory insurance, but is also the preferred excess insurer for small firms in Ontario. For 20 years it has excelled at providing a competitive product that meets the needs of Ontario lawyers, especially those who have traditionally had the most difficulty obtaining this kind of insurance.

 

Excess coverage protects growing real estate practices
 
Growth in land values can mean that if you do make a mistake in a real estate transaction, the resulting claim could easily hit the limit of your professional indemnity coverage. If you haven’t already done so, it may be time to consider whether excess insurance is appropriate for your practice.

 
 
Untangling the myths of excess insurance
 
Far too many lawyers do not appreciate their full exposure to claims and how excess insurance could be of benefit to them. This article addresses some of the common myths about excess insurance, and will help you determine if you should purchase excess coverage or increase the excess coverage you already have.


Land Acknowledgement

The offices of LAWPRO are located on the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, Anishnabeg, Chippewa, Haudenosaunee and Wendat peoples. Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit. LAWPRO respects and acknowledges the histories, languages, knowledge systems, and cultures of First Nations, Metis, and Inuit nations.

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