Hiscox put my 4-person consulting firm's $180,000 E&O claim under a full reservation of rights, assigned panel counsel i never chose, and is now hinting the claim "may fall outside the policy period" because the client's angry email arrived 3 weeks before our claims-made renewal and nobody told me it needed to be reported as a "notice of circumstance." last week they sent a hammer clause letter after i refused a $60,000 settlement the client would take. how do i fight the late-notice trap, get conflict-free counsel, and survive consent-to-settle without torching coverage for the business i spent 12 years building?
twelve years running a small operations consulting firm, four employees, never a claim, never a complaint, and in the span of ninety days i have learned more about professional liability insurance...