You should always report any claims, or incidents which may give rise to a claim, to your insurance company. All insurance policies provide the information necessary to file a notice of a claim or a notice of an incident which may give rise to a claim. Sometimes it is under a section called "Claims" or something similar. Sometimes it is under a section called "Notices" or "Notice Provisions" or words to that effect.

You may also provide your broker and/or D&O Concepts with a copy of the same material however this does not technically constitute notice to the carrier as required in your policy. While the insurance company may accept this it is always safer and quicker to send it directly to them yourself.

By sending the information to your broker alone you are adding unnecessary time to the process and also risking the ultimate delivery and notice to the insurance company. Furthermore, some carriers will only speak with the insured about a claim situation.

Nevertheless, a copy of your claim or incident should also be sent to D&O Concepts. While this is not absolutely necessary, it does give us the ability to follow and assist the progress of your claim or incident.

Advising your carrier of an incident does not necessarily impact your renewal premium. Nevertheless, while it may impact your premium in some instances, this should never be a consideration in in your decision to submit an incident.

In the event that an incident develops into an actual claim, you failure to notify your insurance company of that incident in a timely fashion could ultimately result in a denial of the coverage you've for which you've paid.

Again, it cannot be stressed strongly enough that Notice to your broker does not constitute Notice to your insurance carrier. Your actions should be guided accordingly. Your broker cannot substitute for you on legally sensitive matters such as Process of Service and Notice issues.

All claim notices should be sent at least by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by facsimile or by any method which will provide you with proof that the notice you submitted was in fact delivered. In other words you should always end up with some kind of receipt for your submission.

Any claim which requires immediate action or is time sensitive in any way, such as being served with a Summons and Complaint, should be sent via an expedited or overnight delivery service such as Express Mail of Federal Express.