No Images? Click here Wednesday, 12 December 2018 Welcome to the final Law Mutual (WA) newsletter of the year. In this issue, we look at:
Holiday Season Office ClosureOur offices will be closed from 12.00pm Friday, 21 December 2018 and will reopen on 8.30am Monday, 7 January 2019. We wish all our members a joyous holiday season and a happy and prosperous New Year. Common Notifications and ClaimsTop 5 most common types of notifications and claims received by Law Mutual (WA):
We suggest you treat instructions involving these areas of practice as higher risk and ensure they receive an appropriate degree of focus. Risk AlertLaw Mutual (WA) has recently received details regarding a number of cyber fraud professional indemnity claims. In the first incident, the claim arose because a fraudster infected a firm’s computer system with a virus which enabled that fraudster to ‘watch over’ emails sent and received by the firm to and from its clients. As a result the fraudster was able to gain access to the name of the client, intercepted relevant emails between the firm and the client and, armed with the confidential information of the client, generated a fake email allegedly from the client with the fraudster’s bank account details, into which the firm paid settlement funds. In this case if the firm had taken steps to properly verify the client’s bank account details the fraud would have been avoided. In the second incident, money was lost by a vendor client in a conveyancing transaction as a result of a law firm transferring settlement funds into a fraudster’s bank account. Insureds are reminded that account details in emails must be subject to an independent verification such as:
This is not an exhaustive list, merely some basic preventative steps. They will not necessarily address every situation. Law Mutual has released a number of Risk Alerts advising of a number of sophisticated email scams and instances of email based fraud, with further tips to protect you from email fraud. The following Risk Alerts are available on the Law Mutual (WA) website:
We strongly recommend that practitioners consider the information in the Risk Alerts and ensure they are responding to the risk of fraud via email. Risk Management Seminar Programme 2018-2019Thanks to all who have attended or have registered for the risk management seminars on the Risk Management Programme for 2018/2019. We urge all practitioners to attend the remaining seminars below, if possible. Every practitioner is entitled to two hours of no or low cost seminars.
Country Risk Management Seminar and Remote SeminarsLaw Mutual (WA) is in the process of piloting the delivery of the risk management training through the use of webinars and remotely presented seminars. In order to test the viability of these options, Law Mutual (WA) will be facilitating two additional presentations in January 2019. Attendance at the seminars will count towards your risk management training requirements for an annual contribution discount in the 2019/2020 Insurance Year.
Risk Management Seminar PresentationsThe following risk management seminar presentations are now available to view on the Law Mutual (WA) website: 2018/2019 Risk Management Discount171 practices received the 5% discount on the Annual Contribution and enjoyed discounts ranging from $275 to many thousands of dollars. To qualify for a Risk Management Discount on their 2019/2020 Annual Contribution, practices must ensure that:
The Practice must agree that if such documentary proof is not produced to the satisfaction of Law Mutual (WA), the Practice will immediately repay to Law Mutual (WA) the equivalent of the Risk Management Discount it received together with the GST payable thereon. Further, the Practice will not again be entitled to a Risk Management Discount until it has completed two consecutive years of training requirements. In-House Risk Management SeminarsLaw Mutual (WA) is committed to assisting insured firms to manage professional liability risks through practical, tailored and interactive training. We may be able to arrange an in-house workshop for your firm, depending on the number of practitioners in your firm (minimum 15 attendees required), where we focus on risks that are of most concern to your practice. It is important to conduct the in-house seminar early enough in the insurance year, to ensure that there is time for any practitioners that have unfortunately missed the in-house seminar, to fill the risk management training gaps by utilising the remainder of our face-to-face Risk Management seminar programme before the 28 February 2019 deadline, if your practice is intending on applying for the Risk Management Discount. Please contact Vicki Coles, Manager Risk on (08)9324 8653 for further information. Get to know your Law Mutual (WA)Shumi Tsungu, Administration and Risk Officer Outside work, Shumi enjoys vegie gardening at Rockingham Community Garden. She is involved in community projects that celebrate and inspire Africans living in Australia to pursue their dreams and aspirations whilst positively integrating into the Australian society. Shumi spends quiet time with her husband and two boys relaxing at home. Contact Law Mutual (WA)Street Address: Level 4, 160 St Georges Terrace, Perth WA 6000 |