PRODUCT: AICPA-endorsed professional liability insurance program
COMPANIES: Administered by Aon, underwritten by CNA, endorsed by the AICPA
BEST RATING: Coverage is written on CNA paper, which carriers a rating of A (Excellent).
AVAILABILITY: Coverage is available to agents appointed to Aon’s Territorial Administrator Network.
FOCUS: Aon’s accountancy professional liability program is the largest in the country, insuring over 17,000 small firms, 7,000 midsize firms and over 150 larger firms for a total of approximately 25,000 accounting firms.
It’s also the only program that works directly with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) to incorporate the association’s expertise in responding to and anticipating the changing needs of accounting professionals.
“Our program’s depth, breadth and longevity in the marketplace is unmatched and has helped us provide the profession’s practitioners with a stable and consistent risk transfer solution,” says Dave Sukert, senior vice president, Aon Insurance Services, Inc.
COVERAGE DETAILS: Thanks to a strong working relationship with the AICPA, as well as an uninterrupted 25-year underwriting partnership with CNA, Aon is able to “give back to both new and current clients in the form of coverage enhancements and premium credits,” Sukert explains.
Between 2017 and 2018, Aon added enhancements that reward loyalty to the program. “In 2017, we filed enhanced longevity credits,” Sukert says. “As a result of this filing, nearly 12,000 firms saw their credit doubled.”
In 2018, Aon has added numerous “quality-driven enhancements,” Sukert says, including premium credits for a firm’s enrollment in the AICPA’s Quality Centers and Private Companies Practice Section and an enhanced credit for firms that utilize engagement letters in non-attest engagements.
Aon has also responded to increased accountancy mergers & acquisitions by lowering the cost of tail coverage. Finally, the policy is the first to offer cyber coverage, available as an endorsement.
UNDERWRITING: For small firms, the underwriting process consists of a 10-question application which can be completed online and enables potential clients to apply, bind and pay for coverage in one easy process.
Approximately 80% of midsize firms also qualify for Aon’s facilitated renewal process, which enables them to renew by providing responses to just five or six underwriting questions, Sukert says.
Aon accepts new business submissions on either the Aon application form, or a competitor’s form with a warranty statement.
MINIMUM PREMIUM: N/A.
TARGET: The program is the only accountants professional liability program that has been consistently available to all firms in all states, regardless of practice area or annual revenue.
COVERAGE TERRITORY: Worldwide.
COVERAGE AVAILABILITY: All 50 U.S. states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
CONTACT: Dave Sukert, senior vice president, Aon Insurance Services, Inc.; 215-773-4550.
Will Jones is IA assistant editor.
