Objective advice for corporate insurance claims can be difficult to find. Given the intertwined relationships between insurers, insurance brokers and many lawyers, it can be difficult to determine who is looking out for your business and who is looking out for the interests of your insurance carrier. Conflicts of interest are incredibly important in the world of insurance recovery law and these conflicts are often times not disclosed to policyholders. Known or unknown, deliberate or unintentional, these conflicts can arise whenever a law firm or insurance professional is forced to share allegiances between an insurance carrier and a policyholder.
At Miller Friel, we exclusively represent policyholders. We do not represent insurers and we do not accept panel counsel defense work from insurers. Often times, clients come to us despite the fact that their insurance broker representative urged them not to pursue a claim. Time and time again, we have recovered on those claims. Having freed ourselves of all potential conflicts, we can provide much needed objective insurance claims advice, and vigorously represent our clients' best interests.
In this video, managing partner Brian Friel talks about the importance of objective advice, both for insurance advisory services, and for claims handling.
Here is the transcript of the video:
Conflict Free Advice For Corporate Policy Holders For Insurance Claims
So another aspect on the insurance renewals and issues that we see, the insurance brokerage community. They are in essential part of this industry. As a matter of practice companies cannot buy insurance directly, they have to go through a broker. So they really are an essential player. Many of them are very very good, very reputable, outstanding individual brokers however, brokers really are wearing two hats.
They are representing the corporate policy holder, either obtaining insurance proceeds or helping them through a claims dispute. But they are also working with the insurance industry, the underwriter, the claims adjuster's. They are getting paid by the insurance companies. So they really were two hats. And what we find is those brokers, who are not practicing lawyers who are not lawyers that all, who don't have the undivided fidelity and loyalty to the corporate policy holders as we do as lawyers. We are ethically bound to exclusively represent our clients and that's it. They don't have that. And I think as a result, they may miss things. They don't put the same sort of experience, the same sort of focus, and the same sort of passion in making sure that the corporate policy holder has the best insurance policies with the best chance to recover those proceeds later on with the dispute.
Miller Friel, PLLC is a specialized insurance coverage law firm whose sole purpose is to help corporate clients maximize their insurance coverage. Our Focus of exclusively representing policyholders, combined with our extensive Experience in the area of insurance law, leads to greater efficiency, lower costs and better Results. Further discussion and analysis of insurance coverage issues impacting policyholders can be found in our Miller Friel Insurance Coverage Blog and our 7 Tips for Maximizing Coverage series.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.