What are your premiums?
What are your limits & deductible?
Have you ever had a situation in which you dropped your coverage, then you go back to get coverage and your premiums are nearly double what they were before, after a 2 years lapse in coverage and have never had a single claim?
Have never dropped coverage, so cant speak on that. Premiums are usually based on a percentage of your yearly gross within a range of 1.5 to 3 percent, depending on the company and your relationship with that company. My deductiable is $10K, with defense costs not being included in the deducible, insurance company pays defense costs.
Since I do very little construction staking my $1M/$2M aggregate E&O with a $5K deductible is $1,625 per year. General Business is $500 per year.
All of this through Assurance Risk Managers from Aurora, CO. (NSPS sponsored)
I have never made a claim and have never let my policies lapse - been insured since 2004.
Scott
> What are your premiums?
> What are your limits & deductible?
>
> Have you ever had a situation in which you dropped your coverage, then you go back to get coverage and your premiums are nearly double what they were before, after a 2 years lapse in coverage and have never had a single claim?
1mil
$500
I had just the opposite experience, when business dropped off they still tried to raise my premium and refused to work with me insisting on an even higher premium.
Since I felt comfortable that my surveying house was in order I decided on this strategy...I let my existing premium lapse by one day and then called them stating that I was shopping several companies for prices and asked if they (my original company) wanted to participate, they ended up quoting nearly half of what I was previously paying.
Of course, this would be a bad strategy if you had something hinky hanging out there that could bite you because nothing from the past is covered if your insurance policy lapses, it's like starting over from that moment on, I felt comfortable and the strategy worked for me as this was several years ago.
Mileage may vary...
I think around 2K for 2 million.
Rates actually dropped over a grand!
Surveying with out PI is like walking in a mine field. some will get through, some will lose a limb , or two, and others blasted out of existence.
Difference with liability period in OZ is it is a 7 year period to claim after found!
Can I also add best to get from a reputable company specialising in that cover as you wantthe knowledge that they are fighting to minimise the claim.
Of course you never admit liability to anyone!
RADU
Friday, I took a Continuing Education Course given by Knud Hermansen LS PE PHD Esq.. Knud said that insurance companies are in business like we are. Insurance companies will make decisions on the basis of cost to them and will settle with what is best for them. You maybe 100% right but they will settle as they think the cost to them is greater than the settlement. You may think this has taken care of your problem but Knud said you need to retain a lawyer in addition to your insurance company lawyers. Because when your insurance company settles it could cause an action against you by the State Board. Just something to think about.
Back to the thread, I have had no claims against me, all the goodie points I could get from the insurance company. But I practice in an area where an affordable home costs $500,000. Most homes are over a million and I stake out homes in the 5 to 12 million dollar range. I do 40-70 FEMA Elevation Certificates a year. It is all about exposure. I pay in five figures for E&O Insurance.
When I was thinking of diversifying into writting SWPPPs, I sent everything I could find about the certifications to my E&O Insurance (a National Company). I did it twice and they said each time as long as writing SWPPPs was less than 50% of my business then they considered it to be part of land surveying.
$3,157 for $1M/$2M.
$1 mill coverage
$5k deduc
$2,240
(i know to the dollar because i just renewed last week)
Mine was almost to dollar with Jim's. Same coverage.
These are my guys
http://www.hallandcompany.com/
They specialize in surveyors, engineers, and architects.
1 mil, 10k deductible on all cost including defense cost and you will write a check for 10K before you get out of discovery.
Underwriter is Lloyds and my premiun is less than 1% of my gross.