KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE You can read all of our articles on our website. Having trouble getting our emails? Change your spam controls and whitelist ken@kirschenbaumesq.com ****************************** E&O coverage – best of the worst January 17, 2025 ********************************** E&O coverage – best of the worst ********************************** Ken Who do you see alto of your alarm clients going with for insurance? The Hartford is not writing umbrellas for 5M anymore so I may have to find a new company. EB ******************************* Response ******************************* I’m trying to find something to compare alarm E&O coverage to and I am having problem thinking of suitable. Funeral insurance? Grave perpetual care? Home owners insurance in Florida and few other places? What’s the beef? Well first of all, premiums use to be more than reasonable. Now, premiums are expensive; just as expensive as other liability insurance. The justification for the comparable rates seems suspect to me when you consider that alarm E&O coverage use to be more or less defense cost for subscriber claims. I say defense cost because the carry wrote the insurance only if a proper alarm contract was in place and the claim was typically successfully defended; at least it was when I was doing the defense work. Admittedly carriers have moved to “house counsel” or “panel counsel” and they are usually not expert in handling alarm defense cases. Slip and fall and car accident cases should be defended in a very real way different from alarm defense cases and the insurance counsel simply don’t understand this. I can’t blame them; cases against alarm companies are not that common, certainly not like the slip and fall and car accidents cases. That along with the turn-over defense law firms typically experience and the level and experience of the attorneys don’t generate legal experts in the law affecting the alarm industry. To make matters worse carriers are now declining coverage for E&O claims and the reason is simply because the Claims Representatives and Claims Underwriting Defense counsel don’t understand the coverage. Case in point. I have a 4 million dollar burglary loss. Burglars jammed signals and broke in. Central station didn’t get any signal. Entire break-in is on camera, though not monitored cameras. Claim comes in against dealer and central station. Carrier looks at the E&O policy and determines no coverage because the burglary loss is not considered “property damage” or “personal injury”. When asked what the E&O policy is intended to cover I get only confusion. This is unacceptable. When you have a claim you expect it to be covered. My recommendation is Security America. It’s listed on The Alarm Exchange. Brokers may not prefer it because you can by the insurance without a broker. You get a discount for using K&K Standard Form Agreements, so be sure to ask for it. And, no, I don’t get a kickback. While this insurance was also pretty much the least expensive, that’s not why I recommend it. The insurance company is owned by national alarm association; it’s covered by Lloyd’s of London. It’s an alarm program and they know what E&O coverage is for and how it works. You might also have less resistance asking that it engage K&K to assist you if there is a claim. There are reputable insurance brokers listed on The Alarm Exchange and I strongly suggest you use one of them if looking to shop around; they know what you need and where to get it. ******************** STANDARD FORMS Alarm / Security / Fire and related Agreements click here: www.alarmcontracts.com *************************** CONCIERGE LAWYER SERVICE PROGRAM FOR THE ALARM INDUSTRY - You can check out the program and sign up here: https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/concierge or contact our Program Coordinator Stacy Spector, Esq at 516 747 6700 x 304. *********************** ALARM ARTICLES: You can always read our Articles on our website at ww.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/alarm-articles updated daily ******************** THE ALARM EXCHANGE - the alarm industries leading classified and business exchange - updated daily ************************* Wondering how much your alarm company is worth? Click here: https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/what-is-my-alarm-company-worth ****************************** Getting on our Email List / Email Articles archived: Many of you are forwarding these emails to friends or asking that others be added to the list. Sign up for our daily newsletter here: Sign Up. You can read articles and order alarm contracts on our web site www.alarmcontracts.com ************************** Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum PC Attorneys at Law 200 Garden City Plaza Garden City, NY 11530 516 747 6700 x 301 ken@kirschenbaumesq.com www.KirschenbaumEsq.com
