Member Services
Service, communication, and long-term relationships are the cornerstones of our approach to member services at ALAS. The Member Services Department works with our members and prospective firms in a variety of areas, including policy renewal, underwriting, and our separate coverage programs for management liability (MLI), employment practices liability insurance (EPLI), and our combined management liability and employment practices coverage (MLI/EPLI). In all of our activities, we use an integrated approach, in which lawyers from the Claims and Loss Prevention departments and members of our Board of Directors are extensively involved.
Renewal
Communication with our members is central to our renewal program. ALAS provides presentations addressing our financial results and renewal issues at our spring regional loss prevention conferences, our Annual General Meeting in June, and at our biannual Firm Administration Conferences. In the fall of each year, we conduct renewal meetings throughout the country to discuss our rates and our underlying loss experience, as well as other developments at ALAS.
Member Services also works with our member firms on an individual basis throughout the year on a range of insurance issues. For example, each member firm files an annual renewal application, which is reviewed by senior personnel in the department to assess changes in census, retentions, limits, ancillary services, and areas of practice. In addition, we provide advice and coverage options to address the needs of our member firms in merger discussions. We also provide information and assistance for member firms that place coverage excess of ALAS in the commercial insurance market.
Management Liability and EPLI
Member Services is also active throughout the year in overseeing our management liability and EPLI programs. Management liability provides coverage to law firms and individuals involved in firm management for claims arising from management decisions. Our EPLI coverage is a separate program providing protection to our firms for claims arising out of the employment relationship. As of June 30, 2008, after four years of offering management liability coverage, 10 ALAS firms, with over 3,800 lawyers, had obtained management liability policies from ALAS. In our EPLI program, 18 firms, with approximately 5,300 lawyers, had purchased EPLI policies from ALAS as of June 30, 2008. In addition, ALAS provides loss prevention guides for management liability and EPLI with innovative advice for all of our member firms to consider in addressing new forms of exposure in both areas.
On September 26, 2006, we announced a new program that provides MLI and EPLI coverage in a single policy. The combined policy has a single limit and a single retention applicable to any covered claim, whether it involves employment liability, management liability, or some combination of the two. We have developed the combined MLI/EPLI policy to provide an additional coverage option for our firms. Accordingly, firms that wish to apply for or to renew MLI or EPLI coverage on a stand-alone basis for 2008 are free to do so. As of June 30, 2008, 35 firms with over 15,700 lawyers have obtained coverage under this program.
New Firms
ALAS does not operate through retail brokers. Accordingly, Member Services is responsible for providing information to prospective new firms about our coverage program, our rates, and our distinctive approach to claims handling, loss prevention, and underwriting. We also require any firm seeking membership in ALAS to file an application providing information about the firm's management structure, claims experience, coverage history, loss prevention practices and financial condition. ALAS lawyers make personal visits to all of these applicants for formal underwriting reviews, and we do not extend an offer of membership unless there is a consensus among senior management that the firm satisfies our preferred risk standards.
Conclusion
Member Services is committed to doing all we can to enhance the service and stability that have distinguished ALAS from the commercial market throughout our history. Please feel free to contact us with any questions about ALAS or requests for additional information.