Peel Institute offers advisor E&O training course

(April 1, 2003) In an effort to help advisors protect themselves against lawsuits, the Peel Institute is offering an errors and omissions insurance training course. It’s hoped the course will ultimately lead to reduced E&O premiums and improved coverage, says Peel registrar Jim Bullock.

The course consists of a three-hour seminar as well as an Internet component which is still being developed, Bullock says. Topics include avoiding errors, the causes of legal action, grounds for a successful lawsuit, as well as best practices and documentation.

“We will use actual legal cases, issues and problems from the financial services business,” Bullock told Advisor.ca. “Some of it is pretty basic stuff, such as making notes about a telephone conversation and record keeping.

“As people become better educated, they’ll have fewer claims and that will have a positive effect on everybody,” Bullock says. “Second, if they get education as a group they will qualify for a policy and a rating that reflects that.”

In fact, Bullock is currently negotiating an E&O group policy with an insurer based on the prerequisite that everyone who gets the insurance will have taken an E&O training course. “I expect that other insurers will follow suit,” he adds, comparing E&O courses to driver training programs, which enable participants to qualify for lower auto insurance rates.

The financial services industry is in the midst of an E&O insurance crisis, Bullock says, with higher premiums and watered-down policies. “Thanks to September 11, the insurance industry has fewer resources to allocate to policy reserves,” he says. “So agents are getting less protection for more money.

“It’s at the point where a number of agents are being denied coverage because the organization they’re with is unable to arrange insurance,” Bullock adds.

The Peel Institute worked with two insurance companies, an adjuster and two lawyers to develop the course. Bullock, an expert in the E&O area, will lead the seminars. “I’ve sued two insurance companies and I’ve been sued once,” he jokes.

The seminars will be held next week in Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver, as part of Peel’s 2003 Western Symposia, hosted by Advocis chapters in those cities. For more information, check the Peel Institute Web site.

Filed by Doug Watt, Advisor.ca, dwatt@advisor.ca