Claim Reporting
Process
LIANS has complete and exclusive control over the conduct of the defence of a claim (see clause 4.4(a) of the Policy). The claim is assigned to LIANS claims counsel, who will confirm coverage. If the Claims Counsel identifies any potential exclusions or breaches of Policy conditions that place coverage in issue, they will initiate a coverage review.
Claims counsel will then investigate the claim, and contact you, either by letter or by telephone, to discuss the claim and request any additional information that will assist in the investigation. LIANS may retain counsel to provide an opinion or defend the claim.
The claim may be settled or defended by LIANS, as deemed appropriate after a review of the claim and the relevant facts, evidence, legislation and legal principles. Once claims counsel has completed a review of the claim, LIANS will review its position with you. Once the investigation has been completed, either the claims counsel or defence counsel will present LIANS’ position to the claimant.
Once a claim has been reported, either by you or by someone else, you must cooperate and assist in the investigation of the claim. You should not make any admission of liability in the matter as this may prejudice the claim investigation (see clause 4.4(b) and (d) of the Policy).
Consult Commentary 5.11 of the Legal Ethics and Professional Conduct Handbook for guidance on when and to what extent solicitor-client privilege is waived when a client makes a claim against his or her lawyer.
If a claim is successfully defended and no damages are paid,the defence costs are borne by LIANS.
If LIANS pays damages or incurs repair costs in the handling of a claim, the surcharge will apply.
Surcharges
Effective May 1, 2000 the individual deductible was replaced by a surcharge.
- For any claim paid, a surcharge will be applied to the Insured’s next insurance levy and the insurance levy for each of the four following years
- The surcharge is 40% of the full practising levy as set for each of the five years following the payment of a claim
- Each paid claim triggers the surcharge
- The Insured may be given the option to pay the claim and not have the insurance levy surcharged. If this option is extended to the Insured, they will have a set period of time in which to pay the amount of the claim after which the Society will be notified that the surcharge applies. The time period for paying a claim will not be extended in such a way as to avoid a levy on the next invoice
For example, if a claim is paid in the current Policy year 2010/2011, the Insured receives a surcharge on the insurance levy of 40% on their 2010/2011 invoice from the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society. If the insurance levy for 2010/2011 is set at $1887, a surcharge of $754.80 will be applied. This will occur for each of the five years following the date of the claim payment. The surcharge in each year will vary with the amount of the insurance levy for that year.