Lawcovernotes December 2016

Lawcover and the profession - working together for positive outcomes Withmost law practices having recently received a Policyholder rebate , it is timely to mention Lawcover’s risk management and claims prevention activities and to recap the benefits these provide. Without apology we promote these programs as enhancing the best interest of the legal profession, its clients, and the insurer. Our actuarial analysis provides compelling evidence that solicitors’ participation in our risk management activities results in reduced claims each year. We hope that by spreading the word, law practices continue to engage with our programs, so that both negligence claims and average net premiums continue to decline. It is a given that greater awareness of risk factors in practice enhances the quality of the relationship between lawyers and their clients, which we know is a key factor in predicting claims. If law practices continue to engage with our risk management activities, the evidence points to continued downward pressure on the incidence of claims against law practices and, as a consequence, the cost of premiums year on year. Proven outcomes Our innovative risk management program was established in 1995, after there had been a steady increase in the number of professional negligence claims against solicitors in NSW. Research commissioned by Lawcover culminated in a comprehensive analysis on the causes of professional negligence claims against solicitors, and recommended strategies to combat this increase. The resulting programs are continually adapted to reflect our customers’ needs. Currently these include: RMEP The Risk Management Education Program ( RMEP ) is a series of workshops designed for principals to highlight individual and practice risks known to cause professional negligence claims. Attendance at the RMEP is associated with significantly lower frequency and claims size for participating law practices. The workshops currently offered are: ^ ^ All about the Client ^ ^ All about the Matter ^ ^ All about the Communication ^ ^ All about the Business ^ ^ All about the Dollar Our workshops recognise that a successful business is one that is most likely to have positive relationships between lawyers and clients and therefore less likely to be the subject of a claim, so we take a more holistic approach by looking at different aspects of the business of practising law. Practice Advisory Service Law practices that have had at least one substantial claim or that have been identified as potentially high risk can be referred to for a practice visit and assessment by a risk management consultant. The nature of the advice provided varies in each case and may cover legal and business management aspects. Acceptance and participation by the law practice is voluntary and at no cost. 6.