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Attorneys–perhaps more so than any other profession–understand the real value of malpractice insurance. No one is safe from being wrongfully sued, not even lawyers themselves. And that’s where legal malpractice insurance comes in.
According to the 12th annual Lawyers’ Professional Liability Insurance survey, the largest number of malpractice claims in 2021 included lawyers practicing in the areas of trusts and estates, business transactions, and corporate and securities. These practice areas were followed by matters involving insurance defense, taxation and general litigation.
While worthwhile, it’s worth noting that obtaining professional liability insurance is a bit more complicated than securing other kinds of insurance.There are jurisdiction-specific limitations, so you need to know which providers are available in your area before diving into the insurance shopping process. The American Bar Association has a state-by-state directory of LPL insurance providers that are allowed to operate within specific regions.
Further, once you know who you can purchase insurance from–you may still be left with a dizzying array of options. And that’s where we come in.
AdvisorSmith has rated the best legal malpractice insurance companies based on various factors and coverage types that matter most to legal professionals. Check out our top picks:
ALPS Insurance is considered the nation’s largest direct writer of legal malpractice insurance. ALPS provides three of the most comprehensive policies available to the private practice firm including: Legal Practice Liability, Cyber Breach Response Insurance, and Employment Practices Liability Insurance–which isn’t typically part of your standard insurance policy. ALPS offers lawyers a choice in coverage and its associated cost. Many plans are structured by a low, per-attorney rate, making it a great choice for solo or small firms.
ALPS Insurance is available in all states except for Oregon. And they partner with 19 state and local bars across the country to gain the greatest understanding of real-time challenges and desired successes.
ALPS Insurance provides coverage for solo firms up to $2,000,000 per claim/$4,000,000 aggregate with deductibles ranging up to $25,000. For multi attorney firms you can expect coverage up to $10,000,0000/$20,000,000 limits with deductibles ranging up to $100,000.
With dedicated experts in legal malpractice insurance, ALPS claims that they make it easy for attorneys to complete the entire insurance process online, however, if you want to speak with a live person, you can do that too.
ALPS received 4.9 stars out of 5 on Trustpilot and has an A/M Best Rating of A- (Excellent).
A reviewer from July 2022 titled their review as “Exceptional Service and Protection” and had this to say about the insurance carrier:
“Alps and their in-house claims attorney did an exceptional job defending our firm during a protracted (5 year) claim in the context of the bankruptcy litigation of a former client. I can’t recommend Alps enough.”
360 Coverage Pros knows that the impact of a data breach can be devastating for law firms. Their Cyber Liability and Data Breach Insurance program has pricing that starts as low as $199 annually and quoting can take place in just a few minutes. This coverage plan has to be purchased in addition to general malpractice insurance.
360 Coverage Pros’ plans are secured by the Swiss Reinsurance Company, a major insurance provider with an A+ rating from AM Best.
Directors & Officers, D&O, Insurance protects the assets of your board of directors from lawsuits related to various accusations including misuses of company funds, misrepresentations of company assets, a breach of fiduciary duty, and general non-compliance. We like Embroker for this coverage because they make it easy to get a quality D&O policy–you won’t need to provide equity ownership or financial statements to receive a quote or complete a purchase.
Embroker’s D&O policy contains three insuring agreements – commonly referred to as Side A, Side B, and Side C.
Like Alps, Embroker offers comprehensive Legal Malpractice coverage options, so you can get plans that just include legal malpractice insurance or a combination that also includes, D&O insurance, cyber and crime insurance as well as EPL insurance.
Chubb is a major insurance provider known for their wide variety of insurance options, high consumer ratings, and excellent claims handling and risk management services.
Chubb offers their own standalone EPL Insurance for Law Firms that has been designed exclusively for the law firm community. It offers broad coverage for claims brought by partners and for claims for failure to make partner; it also includes: Punitive damages coverage, advancement of defense expenses, coverage for actual or alleged wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, third-party discrimination, third-party harassment and other workplace torts.
Further Chubb also offers an early claim incentive endorsement. If policyholders notify Chubb within 15 business days of an employment claim they’ll receive a 10% reduction (up to $50,000) in their deductible.
And Chubb’s risk management program includes access to a specific EPL Prevention Program with resources that include a wide array of employment tools, access to a toll-free hotline and a panel of consultants.
When starting your research, we suggest checking out ALPS Insurance for comprehensive legal malpractice coverage. They are considered a leader in the legal insurance world, have great customer satisfaction reviews and claim to offer a simple quote and purchase process. You could also consider Embroker if you would like to compare another provider that allows for customized legal-minded bundles. If Cyber insurance is super important to your firm, 360 Coverage Pros could be the way to go. Or if you want to stick with a well known name that has legal-centric plans, Chubb could also make for a great choice.
This article may feature links to partners who compensate our business, but these partnerships in no way impact our research, recommendations, or advice.
