HOW SMART IS TOO SMART? RELIANCE ON E&O IS RISKY By Kevin C. Amrhein, CIC I recently celebrated my 20th insurance birthday. When I started as a commercial producer in 2001, I was fresh out of college and possessed limited understanding not just of insurance but of business in general. I learned a lot in those early years in large part because I felt obligated to answer every question asked of me. I couldn’t stomach the thought of not having an answer for my insured and would exhaust every conceivable resource to find one. These were my insureds after all, and I thought it was my obligation to possess expertise
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on any issue vital to the success of their business. I was wrong. Reality check: I was a Property & Casualty insurance licensee providing answers to questions based in realty law, tax law, criminal law, employment law, legal liability (statutory and contractual), and financial advisory, just to name a few. Looking back, I’m shocked I made it this far without getting an insured, my employer, or myself into serious trouble. JUNE 2021
It leads me to a question I often ask my students: How smart is too smart? Here’s an example of a scenario I’ll put to them in class: Your contractor insured contacts you to ask if he can fly his drone at a jobsite to take aeriel photos of the property. How do you respond? Many will reply with a question of their own – e.g. “Are you appropriately licensed?” Some will share intricate details of aviation law. Others will simply say “no” or “sure.”
