RISK MANAGEMENT
CAN AGENCY PROPOSALS CREATE E & O EXPOSURE ?
By Mary LaPorte , AINS , CPCU , CIC , LIC , CPIA
I think our agency needs to worry about proposals ,
Q . but no one else seems to be concerned . I am a commercial account manager who works with four different producers . Each of them has a preferred proposal they like to use for new or renewal presentations . We can get one from our agency management system , but most don ' t like that one . They have different ones in a Word document that they like . It forces me to type in the information , which takes a lot of time . At least on renewals , I can overwrite last year ' s information , and it is a little easier . Even the one that comes off our system needs to be cleaned up , which takes time . I spent almost two days trying to get three proposals done . Isn ’ t there some E & O that can come from this ? I ’ m hoping if our owners see this in writing from you , they will be more likely to address the problem .
Ashley I .
Ashley , I applaud your initiative to step up and try
A . to resolve the agency ’ s proposal concerns . Yes , proposals are frequently pulled into E & O litigation , and having good proposal standards can minimize the agency ’ s exposure .
Proposals should be issued through the agency management system as a standard . The proposal in most management systems is simply a Word document . So any “ preferred ” proposal which can be done in Word can be made in your system . If no one in your office knows how to edit the proposal templates , then reach out to your vendor or user ’ s group for help . The reason for using only the proposal in your system is twofold . First , it saves keystrokes . Management should realize that keystrokes are time and that time is money . Second , and most important , since the information is pulled from the application or policy , it minimizes entry error . There are plenty of horror stories where a transposed number or a comma in the wrong place created an E & O loss for an agency .
Management should evaluate all the preferred proposals and create a consistent style with the agency brand and which all producers should use . In making the proposal , include various optional pages that can be selected when building a specific proposal . It eliminates the need to cut and paste or otherwise tweak the proposals to satisfy each producer .
Some agencies may have a marketing / sales program that includes proposal development . It is also acceptable , but only if the software integrates with the management system and eliminates the need to enter the information manually . Once again , consistency is essential , and everyone should use the same proposal system .
Here are a few more helpful hints :
• Include an appropriate disclaimer on each proposal stating that it is simply a brief representation of coverages proposed , and only the policy should be referenced when determining coverage .
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