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 ****************************** Should claim be reported and strategy for handling / last day to register for webinar December 17, 2024 ************************* Webinar TOMORROW- last day to register. Dont miss this important webinar **************************** K&K will present a free webinar on December 18, 2024 at noon ET on essential issues regarding E&O insurance coverage. Be sure to attend or watch the webinar on the K&K website once updated. Register here:https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5871022000598911321 ******************* Title: Application for E&O coverage and related issues Presented by: Shawn Iverson of The Insurance Center When: December 18, 2024 at 12pm ET. Webinar will be posted on K&K website https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/alarm-webinars Who should attend: Owner, GM, risk managers Topics to be covered: Do you really have E&O coverage? Is there difference between general liability, professional liability, completed operations and Errors and Omission coverage? Do all carries purporting to write E&O coverage for alarm/security companies understand the coverage How important is detail in response on the application or renewal application What are implications for less than accurate response to application questions Do all carriers handle claims the same How should you rely on your insurance broker and are they all the same **************************** Should claim be reported and strategy for handling ****************************** Ken Hope all is great with you. Enjoy reading all your information. I have 2 questions. In the case where the CS and Dealer negotiated a deal with the customer are they required by their insurance to report this loss? Workers Comp and Car insurance require you to report all accidents to them even if you fix the cars involved yourself or and don't use insurance. My next question is, in South Carolina, judges on the Circuit Level delay decisions on no fault clauses until all discovery is done as is how he said it. We are involved in a case that we dispatched and the police reported all is secure and the customer did not want to go out and the next day discovered the break-in. Our carrier choose the law firm to use and they are offering settlement before the trial. Our lawyer assigned by the insurance company asked for a decision on the no-fault clause and was told no decisions on no-fault clauses are made until all discovery is done. This added to the cost of the lawyers because they still have to prepare for the case as they put it. This means any settlement they make will be in our history for a few years causing higher premiums and an un-attractive loss run report. The insurance company says they make the decision to settle or not. Please do not use our name. ************************** Response ************************** I am not sure what you mean by “no-fault” clause. At first I thought you were referring to an auto accident case, which does involve “no fault law’ in those states that have “no fault”. But that clearly isn’t what you mean. Since you don’t seem to be familiar with common terms and conditions in the alarm contract and alarm law it’s no wonder that your insurance defense counsel is also in the dark chasing their tails. If they are preparing for trial then too bad for the idiot carrier who hired them, and yes, you too, when it comes to your loss run [which, by the way, has already been affected because the carrier opened a Claim File on this loss]. To answer the first question you need to look at your policy to see your reporting responsibility. You may not be required to report a claim until you actually get a formal claim; either a claim letter or a summons and complaint. I think most policies require you to report an incident that you believe will end up being a claim. The reason I like that policy is because it hopefully get you and the carrier out in front of the claim that is likely to be made; you can gather and retain your records. Subscribers often will starting asking you questions or ask for records, a sure sign that they or their carrier are interested in finding out if you have any blame and responsibility for the loss. I get calls all the time from alarm dealers asking me what they should provide and what information they should convey. I usually tell them they should contact their carrier and ask the carrier to retain me to guide them; some do, some don’t. I’ve explained to carriers that how you respond to initial inquiries often influences whether a claim will stop dead in its tracks or proceed to the claim and lawsuit level, something you want to avoid and something the carrier should want to avoid [but some don’t seem to care about]. Some courts will not permit a motion for summary judgment before discovery is complete. If that is the case in your state then your attorneys should be trying to wrap up discovery. If you use the Kirschenbaum Contracts they should be preparing the motion for summary judgment. Don’t be surprised if your attorneys aren’t following that strategy; they don’t know how. They will plug along until they fold and settle or try the case; most likely it’s the carrier pulling the strings based on the defense budget and potential damage exposure. You need to be careful if the potential damage could exceed your insurance coverage. If you are in that position then you need your own counsel to protect your interests against your own carrier and the defense attorneys it hired. The concept here is “bad faith” and you need to carefully thread your strategy. If you are in that position I suggest you keep my number handy. ********************** 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
