How Do Malpractice Insurers Determine My Rates?

“I'm Joe Barnard, Director of National Programs for ProDefender. I'm here today to walk you through how legal malpractice insurers determine your rates.”

How do legal malpractice insurers determine my rates?

“Rates can be shocking to many attorneys. The fact is, there are only a few key things that influence what kind of rate you can get for any given policy.”

How long have you been in practice?

“New attorneys pay less for malpractice insurance than experienced attorneys. The difference is that malpractice claims against an attorney can come up months or years after the event. That means that an insurer covering an attorney and her third year of practice is taking on more risk than one covering a new attorney simply because the experienced attorney has been practicing longer, exposing her to greater risk.”

How many attorneys are you insuring?

“Insurers base premiums for firms in part on the number of attorneys they insure. The more attorneys on a policy, the better that per attorney rate should be.”

What area of law do you practice?

“Some areas of law expose attorneys to higher levels of risk than others. Each area of practice assigned its own risk factor. Firms practicing in multiple areas of law are given a weighted average depending on what proportion of the practice is devoted to each practice area.”

What claim limits do you need?

“Lawyers who practice in higher risk areas must take certain factors into account when choosing coverage limits, while a criminal defense attorney may get by with a limit of liability of $100,000 per claim, $300,000 per year, a lawyer working in intellectual property will likely need more protection with a policy that carries much higher limits of liability. The higher your limits of liability, the higher the premium.”

Speak to one of our experts today!

If you're ready to shop for legal professional liability insurance, contact ProDefender. We can help you understand what levels of coverage you need and get the best rates on a policy to protect your assets and your professional reputation.