Am I a good fit with AIM?

I always enjoy speaking with attorneys at Alabama and Tennessee bar events. As a former private practice attorney, I can talk shop on current news in the legal profession such as the recent Supreme Court ruling on the Chevron doctrine and the power of federal agencies or the recent preliminary injunction against the FTC’s ban on noncompete agreements.

Since I’m also the senior underwriter for AIM, one evergreen topic that attorneys always bring up with me is who needs professional liability coverage and what questions they should ask  - and expect to be asked by - a potential insurance carrier.

Every attorney practicing law needs liability insurance. You’ve invested in your chosen profession and reputation. You do not want either taken away by a claim of malpractice.  And it is not a good idea to leave the responsibility of finding professional liability insurance solely to your non-lawyer support staff. They most likely will focus only on price, and there are many other factors to consider. These are some, but not all the questions that a law practitioner should expect to answer:

1. How long have you been in practice?

2. Which areas of law do you practice?

3. Have any bar grievances or claims been made against you? How many have been made? How severe have they been?

4. Do you want your coverage to include cybersecurity and defense costs?  

If you are not in private practice or if you are in a very large national or global firm, your coverage will be determined for you by your employer. But if you are a solo or small firm practitioner, the responsibility of coverage is yours. How do you determine if you and AIM are a good fit? It is true that AIM considers certain attorneys to be ideal policyholders:

1. Lawyers in private practice;

2. Solo practitioners and multi-person firms;

3. Newly admitted lawyers;

4. Lawyers  in most practice areas; and

5. Lawyers that are specialists as well as those engaged in multiple areas of practice.

Is your firm a good fit? You very well may be. My answer is please contact me, and let’s talk.

While AIM is known for specializing in coverage for solo practitioners and small-to-medium-sized firms (50 attorneys or less), I take many risk/exposure factors into consideration before I offer coverage, so don’t count yourself out if you don’t fall within these limited parameters.  We’d love to have the chance to work with you.