Lawcovernotes August 2015

Lvl 13, 383 Kent St, Sydney NSW 2000 Australia DX 13013 Sydney Market Street Telephone (02) 9264 8855 | Facsimile (02) 9264 8844 lawcover@lawcover.com.au | lawcover.com.au Lawcover Pty Ltd | ABN 48 003 326 618 Lawcover Insurance Pty Ltd | ABN 15 095 082 509 Welcome AUGUST 2015 EDITION 7 20 years of RMEP This year marks the 20th anniversary of Lawcover’s Risk Management Education Program (RMEP). As noted in an enclosed article by Malcolm Heath, the RMEP is a unique education initiative for solicitors. It is based on 20 years of Lawcover experience and claims- related data which has been crafted into informative and engaging workshops, seminars, roadshows and briefings. We have compelling evidence that the RMEP is playing a significant role in reducing both the frequency and severity of claims by our insured law practices. That means potential for reductions in premiums and we have already seen clear evidence of that. Over many years in professional indemnity, I have developed a keen interest in the application of risk management education to professionals and the impact it can have on their practice. I have always been a believer that timely, relevant and well delivered programs can not only benefit the professionals at whom they are aimed, they can also positively impact outcomes for their clients. Please take the time to read the RMEP article. Once again I recommend your participation in the RMEP as a demonstrable value-add to your practice. 2015 renewal The annual insurance renewal is all but complete, with almost all of our insured law practices now in receipt of their 2015/16 insurance policies. We have again received positive feedback about Online Services, although the Lawcover team is always looking for areas of improvement and efficiency. We developed our online renewal system to cater to all of our insured law practices, frommulti-jurisdictional national law firms to our many sole-practitioners. Take-up of Online Services at over 95% would indicate we are achieving our objectives. The feedback we have received during the renewal period will be considered and, as far as practicable, acted upon. Thank you to all of you who have provided that feedback. Also in this issue Once again, we have included a selection of cautionary notes in this edition, as well as a brief insight into premium setting at Lawcover on page 6 which I hope will be of interest. The cost of professional indemnity premiums is always a hot topic, and I ampleased to note that, in spite of a 12%growth in the number of insured solicitors in the last five years, the premium pool (the totality of all premiums charged) has diminished by 12% this year, leading to reductions in base premiums on a like-for-like basis for the majority of our insureds. In addition to the Policyholder Rebate issued last year, this is a very positive outcome due in considerable part to the efforts of the legal profession in adopting high standards of legal practice. Michael Halliday Chief Executive Officer PDF VERSION Welcome to our August 2015 edition of Lawcovernotes which I hope you will find interesting and informative.