Rob Eilers

06/16/2016

An associate of mine has suddenly lost her son....

My name is Traci and I am Kenny Kranz Aunt by marriage. We suddenly and tragically lost Kenny this week and since he was so young and no one was expecting this,  I want to reach out to help his family with his final expenses. Everyone is still so sad and in shock, having to worry about how to pa...

05/17/2016

Thank you to Cochrane & Company in Spokane, WA for hosting the May 12th CE Class. It was really a fun class and a great group of people. Thank you also to Susan Scott, Senior VP of Education for the IIABW, for scheduling the class!

04/30/2016

Sign up for a class

04/26/2016

Upcoming class:

E&O Risk Management: Meeting the Challenge of Change
May 5, 2016 - IIABW, Bellevue

IIABW members with E & O coverage through the IIABW Risk Purchasing Group (fully underwritten by Swiss Re/Westport) may qualify for a 10% premium credit on renewal by attending this seminar. NOTE: This seminar may provide loss control credit for agencies insured through our Fireman’s Fund E&O program.
For details, contact Ashley Kuaea at (425) 649-0102 ext 225 or [email protected].

Date: May 5, 2016 Time: 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Location: IIABW, 11911 NE 1st St, Ste B103, Bellevue Continuing Education: Approved for 6 c.e. (Course #608960)
Instructor: Rob Eilers, ACS, AIAA, AIRC
Registration Fee: IIABW Member: $90 Non member: $105 (Fee includes instruction, handout material and beverage breaks.)

02/10/2016

Rob taught this class yesterday....

E&O Risk Management: Meeting the Challenge of Change


E&O Risk Management: Meeting the Challenge of Change
February 9, 201 - IIABW, Bellevue


This seminar looks at E&O risk management from the agency perspective. It addresses the fundamentals of reducing the E&O exposures of today’s ever changing agency operations including:
· Understanding duties owed to both carriers and customers
· Reviewing the most frequent E&O claims using real-life examples
· Agency defenses such as documentation, disclaimers & consistent procedures
· Exploring exposures within the agency’s daily operations
· Issues with certificates of insurance
· Considerations of social media
· Limiting exposures to data breaches

Loss Control Credit
IIABW members with E & O coverage through the IIABW Risk Purchasing Group (fully underwritten by Swiss Re/Westport) may qualify for a 10% premium credit on renewal by attending this seminar. Click here for attendance requirements for E & O premium credit.
NOTE: This seminar may provide loss control credit for agencies insured through our Fireman’s Fund E&O program.
For details, contact Ashley Kuaea at (425) 649-0102 ext 225 or [email protected].

Date: February 9, 2016 Time: 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Location: IIABW, 11911 NE 1st St, Ste B103, Bellevue Continuing Education: Approved for 6 c.e. (Course #608960)
Instructor: Rob Eilers, ACS, AIAA, AIRC
Registration Fee: IIABW Member: $90 Non member: $105 (Fee includes instruction, handout material and beverage)

11/16/2015

Rob's Expert Witness Cases to Date


10/2/2015 Provost v Lincoln Benefit Life Ins. Co.

Patterson, Buchanan, Fobes, Leitch, & Kalzer, INC.,P.S.
2112 Third Avenue Suite 500
Seattle, WA 98121


7/15/2015 Anchor Bay v Center Bay

Patterson, Buchanan, Fobes, Leitch, & Kalzer, INC.,P.S.
2112 Third Avenue Suite 500
Seattle, WA 98121


6/19/2014 Forbs v Wells Fargo

Patterson, Buchanan, Fobes, Leitch, & Kalzer, INC.,P.S.
2112 Third Avenue Suite 500
Seattle, WA 98121


2/19/2010 Grayson v Allstate Cogdill

Nichols, Rein, Wartelle, Andrews Attorneys At Law
Thirty-Two Square
3232 Rockefeller Avenue
Everett, WA 98201


2/23/2009 Rubida v Farmers Insurance

Platt Irwin Law Firm
403 South Peabody
Port Angeles, WA 98362


7/1/2007 Grayson v. Ciechanowski

Patterson, Buchanan, Fobes, Leitch, Kalzer & Waechter
Two Union Square, 601 Union Street, Suite 4200
Seattle, WA 98103


5/17/2007 Njus v. Mitchell Reed Insurance

Jeffers, Danielson, Sonn & Aylward, P.S.
Attorneys at Law
2600 Chester Kimm Road/ P.O. Box 1688
Wenatchee, WA 98807-1688


8/11/2006 Moorhouse v Essex

Lee, Smart, Cook, Martin & Patterson, P.S. Inc.
1800 One Convention Place
701 Pike Street
Seattle, WA 98101

10/08/2015

Rob has just returned from Helena, Montana

04/29/2015

Robert E. Eilers, ACS, AIAA, AIRC

Robert E. Eilers joined IIABA’s Big “I” Advantage staff in Alexandria, Virginia as the manager of Errors and Omissions (E&O) loss control. Eilers worked closely with Westport and IIABA state associations to manage the Big “I” Professional Liability Program’s loss-control activities, which helped maintain the stability of the National E&O Program. Good errors and omissions practice will lead to profitability and increased sales for the agency. Reviewing potential Professional Liability Instructors and E&O auditor’s qualifications, he appoints candidates for both positions for GEIS/Westport. Eilers incorporates into the teaching curriculum to help agents and brokers alike. GEIS/ Westport Claims Department and Eilers working in tandem updated the Claims Coding methodology by addition and rewriting over 350 lines to the Coding Program, and wrote the handbook, “Claim Coding Operations Definitions.”

Robert Eilers current role with E&O Claims Prevention- Loss Control; include Expert Witness Services for “Standard of Care” claims allegations, and conference speaker. Eilers provides E&O program of metrics for insurance agencies departmental procedures, workflows, audits, and in-agency classes & training. Eilers range of E&O external insurance agency audits work took him to Louisiana and Mississippi after hurricane Katrina to assist agencies with multiple E&O allegations.
Previously Eilers served three years as Territory Marketing Director, for Builders and Tradesmen’s Insurance Services. The Victory Program is “A” rated program of General Liability Insurance. Eilers rolled out the program in Washington and appointed over 178 agencies that produce today $5,000,000 in premium volume. Builders and Tradesman’s Insurance Services was sold to AM Trust.
Eilers held the certified “Education Provider,” for Office of the Insurance Commissioner in Washington, while owning his agency located in Totem Lake Kirkland, WA. Eilers also served as a State Certified Independent Instructor for Department of Insurance Licensing; Eilers began a pre-license education department at Lake Washington Vocational Technical Community College, Kirkland, WA.

08/26/2014

Reason to ask Rob Eilers about Agency Audit …Swiss Re Extends 10% Agency Audit Credit to Five Years

Swiss Re policyholders have the opportunity to receive a 10% premium discount on their E&O policy annually for five years for having an approved agency E&O procedures audit and implementing recommendations.
That is significant savings considering that the cost of these agency reviews is generally absorbed by the first year’s premium savings.
But there are more benefits to agencies that have an approved E&O audit than just discounted E&O premium, including:

Reduced exposure to E&O claims
Developing a better understanding of how the agency operates on the ground level
Customer service
Increasing sales opportunities
Establishing written procedures,
Creating a culture of E&O awareness with agency staff
And, increasing agency efficiency.

08/08/2014

What are some examples of E&O claims against insurance agents?

E&O claims can be grouped into major categories of the cause of loss (i.e. nature of agent error). The
majority (over 80%) of E&O claims against personal lines agents fall into the following categories:

• Failure to place or provide coverage
• Failure to provide adequate coverage
• Misrepresentation by advising coverage when there actually was none
• Failure to advise, review and explain coverage
• Failure to renew coverage

Some of the cause of loss categories sound very similar. In fact, in all of these categories, the customer thought that he or she had procured an insurance policy that would cover them for the type of loss sustained.

In the examples which follow, you will see the differences between these general cause of loss categories.

The first category, failure to place or provide coverage, involves the complete absence of coverage for the underlying claim by the agent’s customer. These claims usually involve an existing policy but can also occur with new business. A typical example involving an existing policy is the failure to add a vehicle to an auto policy.

Failure to provide adequate coverage on the other hand involves a policy that included some coverage for the underlying loss but not enough to cover the entire amount of the loss. This might involve a limits issue on an auto policy or the failure to add an endorsement to a Homeowner’s policy. We see many claims which involve auto policies issued at the statutory minimum limits where the customers thought they had, or had requested, greater coverage.
Statements like ”don’t worry, you will be covered for all claims” or ”this is an all-risk policy” or ”you have full coverage” lead to claims in the third category, misrepresentation by advising coverage when there was actually none. Another potentially dangerous comment that agents make to customers who are moving their insurance business from one carrier to another is ”you will have the same coverage under this policy as you currently do.” This latter generalization can also lead to claims falling under the failure to advise, review and explain coverage cause of loss category. Some E&O claims could have been avoided if only the agent had prepared a side by side comparison of the terms and conditions of the old and new policies and reviewed it with the customer.

These are just a few brief examples of E&O claims that are made against insurance agents. In subsequent sections of this Loss Prevention Guide you will be provided with case studies of actual E&O claims. We urge you and your staff to review them carefully and refer to them from time to time as a way to refresh your memory about what can go wrong in the course of providing services to prospects and customers.