Today, most law firms are covered by multiple insurance policies, specifically designed to protect their assets. Although most policies do indeed protect many of their assets, some of the largest law firms fail to protect their most valuable asset – their reputation.
A law firm’s reputation is its most valuable asset, and it’s probably not covered by the many insurance policies your firm maintains. Any number of events could damage a law firm’s reputation, and with the existence of social media, a reputation could be severely damaged with just a few keystrokes.
Virtually all professional liability policies will bear the cost of your defense and indemnify your firm in the event a legal malpractice claim is made against you. However, what most policies do not cover are the costs associated with managing the public relations impact that a claim might have on your firm’s reputation.
Events Other Than Malpractice Claims Could Damage Your Firm’s Reputation.
A physicians malpractice claim is not the only thing that could harm your firm’s valuable reputation. Events such as workplace violence, or the death, departure or debilitating illness of a firm’s Principal could also cause significant damage. Coverage for the costs of managing these and other “crisis” events is provided by some malpractice policies that have what’s called a “Crisis Event Coverage” extension.
Crisis Event Coverage will reimburse your firm for the reasonable expenses it incurs for hiring Public Relations (PR) consulting services to mitigate the damage to your firm’s reputation. You should be aware that many malpractice policies with a crisis event coverage extension, limit that coverage to specific named events, such as those listed above.
Be Sure To Read Your Policy Thoroughly
Policy language which places these limits on the coverage would not allow your firm to be reimbursed for a crisis event that is not specifically listed in the policy. Some policies not only define the crisis events they will cover, but will also limit you to the PR firms they have selected.
The best Crisis Event Coverage allows you to determine when a crisis event takes place and select the public relations firm of your choice. Find out more information on how you can protect your firm today – call us at 201-847-9175.
