Law Mutual manages claims against an insured law practice or practitioners in accordance with its Claims Management Policy.
As stated in the Policy, Law Mutual’s aim in managing claims is to:
- ensure that insureds are financially protected and able to continue to offer legal services; and
- compensate the consumers of legal services for loss caused by its insureds’ professional negligence.
An insured can notify Law Mutual of a claim or circumstances that might give rise to a claim by downloading and submitting a Notify us of a Claim form. Law Mutual’s objective is to ensure any notification is handled as swiftly and efficiently as possible to avoid further distress. For more information, please call us on (08) 9481 3111.
Insured practitioners have complimentary access to the Ethical Guidance Panel. The Panel provides practitioners with access to experienced colleagues who have indicated their willingness to be available to confidentially discuss professional conduct and ethical issues. This includes providing advice regarding conflict of interest issues where circumstances exist that may give rise to a claim.
For more information, please call Claims at Law Mutual on (08) 9324 8600.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is insured?
- the Legal Practice and each Partner in the Legal Practice shown in the Schedule for attachment to the Certificate and each former Partner;
- each predecessor of the Legal Practice and each Partner in each predecessor of the Legal Practice;
- each person employed or engaged, or previously employed or engaged, on a paid or unpaid basis, in connection with the Legal Practice or predecessor of the Legal Practice, including any trainee, volunteer, part-time, seasonal, temporary, or work experience personnel, a practical legal trainee, or legal practitioner performing Restricted Legal Practice for the purpose of attaining Required Experience, but not including a Consultant;
- each Consultant provided that: a. at the time of any act, error or omission giving rise to a Claim, the Consultant was under the direct control and supervision of the Legal Practice or predecessor of the Legal Practice or a Partner of the Legal Practice or partner of the predecessor of the Legal Practice; b. the act, error or omission giving rise to the Claim occurred in the course of or arose out of the services provided by the Consultant pursuant to the Consultant contract.
- the estate or the legal representatives of each person included in (the above) paragraphs; and
- each service or administration company or trust connected with the Legal Practice to the extent that its activities are carried out exclusively in connection with the Practice.
What is covered under the PII arrangement?
Up to the Limit of Liability (currently $2,000,000) for:
- any amount payable by the Insured to a Claimant (including Claimant’s Costs) in respect of any kind of civil liability incurred in connection with the Practice for any Claim first made against the Insured during the Period of Insurance; and
- Related Costs with respect to that Claim.
and
the Additional Benefit to the extent set out in the Master Policy.
What is not covered?
The circumstances in which there is no coverage are set out in Clause 2 of the Certificate which is schedule 1 of the Master Policy.
When should I notify Law Mutual?
An Insured must give written notice of a Claim first made against the Insured during the Period of Insurance as soon as reasonably practicable after the Claim is made. It is also prudent, and Insureds are strongly urged, to notify Law Mutual (WA) of any circumstances that might give rise to a claim against the Insured.
If you have any queries in relation to notifications of circumstances or Claims, please call the Manager –Claims on (08) 9324 8626.