RISK MANAGEMENT ALERT
March 2020
COVID-19 Update: Lawyers Mutual Enacts Business Continuity Plan | Important Instructions for Policyholders
To our valued policyholders and legal community:
 
Out of abundance of caution for our employees, our insureds and the general public, Lawyers Mutual is transitioning to a remote work environment as part of the LM Business Continuity Plan. Effective today, the Lawyers Mutual office in Cary is closed until such time the public health threat passes. 
 
W e are well-equipped to serve you in a remote work capacity. Our business continuity plan ensures core business functions remain operational in the event of a disruption. While we do not anticipate impediments in service, there are modifications to some business practices. First and foremost, all current and potential policyholders may continue to contact us as needed.  Your point of contact remains the same whether that person is an underwriter, claims attorney or other staff member.
 
Our phone system is now an automated directory. S taff continue to be reachable by phone via the directory. However , due to the anticipated volume of communication, we recommend that email be your primary method, followed by telephone. We anticipate some delay in processing regular U.S. mail and, therefore, encourage our stakeholders to communicate with us via email. Other important adjustments to departmental operations follow below. 
 
We believe following the guidance of our Governor is the most prudent approach to protecting the long - term health of our community.  We will continue to monitor events and evaluate this status as information becomes available to us. Thank you for your loyalty, patience and understanding.  
 
We know that these are trying times for all, and hope that you and your families and friends are able to remain physically and mentally healthy.
 
Dan Zureich
President and CEO
Lawyers Mutual Liability Insurance Company of North Carolina
CONTINUITY OF COVERAGE NOTICE
LIMITED EXTENSION OF DATES IMPACTING YOUR POLICY IN THE EVENT OF A DISRUPTION OF OUR BUSINESS OPERATIONS.  Due to the suspension of operations in our physical office in response to COVID-19, we may be unable to process an application or payment sent by mail.
If we are unable to process your application or payment while working remotely, we will extend the timeframes for policy reissue and premium payment in accordance with the following:

If you encounter a technical issue with an online payment and we are unable to resolve the issue or if we are unable to apply your online payment during the suspension of our physical operations, we will extend your payment due date for thirty (30) days. We will contact you to discuss the status of a past due payment prior to cancelling your policy.  We recommend that you make premium payments online through our website at www.lawyersmutualnc.com.

If your policy expires and we are unable to provide you with a reissue quote during the suspension of our physical operations, we will reissue your policy with prior acts coverage up to sixty (60) days after expiration of the policy.  We recommend that you submit policy applications and change forms by email to underwriting@lawyersmutualnc.com.

If you are unable to submit an application or pay an invoice online as a result of a disruption of your business operations in response to COVID-19, please contact us by email at underwriting@lawyersmutualnc.com so we can discuss solutions to avoid a lapse in your coverage.
UNDERWRITING
Due to the closure of our office, we are unable to timely process correspondence and payments that are mailed to our office. Here are some steps you can take concerning your policy and contacting us while our office is closed:
 
Please send your communication and applications by email to underwriting@lawyersmutualnc.com We will review and respond to email communications and applications sent to this email address.
 
Pay your invoices online through our website. Payment online enables us to apply your payment within 24 hours. Here is information on how to make a payment online:
  1. Go to our website at www.lawyersmutualnc.com
  2. Click on the Payment Due button on the right
  3. Click the Pay Now button on the left. You do not need to register or create an account.
  4. Enter the Client Number that appears on your invoice in red.
  5. Enter the Zip Code that appears on your invoice.
  6. Enter the Secure Code that appears on your screen. This is usually a combination of letters and/or numbers.
  7. Click on the Search Invoices button at the bottom of the screen.
  8. Click the Select box next to the invoice you wish to pay and click on Add Selected Invoices to Your Cart button at the bottom of the screen.
  9. Click Proceed to Checkout. The next screen will give you payment options.
  10. Select how much you would like to pay and click on the Continue to Payment Information button at the bottom of the screen.
  11. Enter your credit card information and click on Continue to Review Payment button at the bottom of the screen.
  12. After confirming your payment, you will receive an email confirmation of your payment.
 
If you encounter a problem completing a payment online, you can send an email to underwriting@lawyersmutualnc.com. We will review and respond to email communications sent to this email address regarding your payment.
 
We value our relationship with you. These steps will help us continue the service you are accustomed to receiving from the Underwriting Department.
CLAIMS
Due to the closure of our office, our claims attorneys are working remotely and may not be able to respond to you as quickly as they normally would. Claims attorneys are still available to respond to you via email and telephone. Please note that we may be unable to timely respond to correspondence that is mailed to our office. We encourage you to send communications via email. A claims attorney will respond to your inquiry in as timely a fashion as possible. We appreciate your patience during this time. 
FINANCE
The company plans to process receipts and disbursements during our office closure, but we anticipate that time to complete these transactions will lengthen. We encourage our insureds to consider payments online as described above and in certain urgent cases an ACH or domestic wire transaction may be an alternative. Your point of contact remains the same whether that person is an underwriter, claims attorney or other staff member. When the underlying transaction is confirmed by our staff, the Finance team will consider any request for an ACH or wire transfer and make the appropriate contacts.
CLIENT SERVICES
CLE and other speaking requests are temporarily suspended. Once the public health threat subsides, we plan to revisit this status with our community partners. In the interim, we invite you to review our Risk Management resources on the company website . For additional requests, please contact us at social@lawyersmutualnc.com . We look forward to continuing to serve you!