While professional liability is the only type of insurance coverage required to be included in paralegal insurance, Ontario legal professionals need other types of insurance to ensure they are adequately covered. Professional liability insurance protects against the costs of being sued for specific reasons. Still, of course, there are many more reasons why you could have a lawsuit brought against you, and you'll need to be able to fall back on the financial support of insurance if and when that happens.

There may also be situations where clients, employers or other parties want you to provide proof of insurance for types of coverage other than professional liability, and you'll need to be able to produce a certificate of insurance that lists the desired insurance and coverage limit. For example, if you lease an office, it's common for the property owner to require commercial tenant insurance. Or, a client with whom you are conducting business online may want proof that you have cyber liability coverage.

Most types of business insurance are not strictly mandatory for most professions, but of course, there are exceptions to every rule. As you likely already know, licensed paralegals have mandatory insurance requirements for their professional liability insurance coverage that have been put in place by the Law Society of Ontario. Unlike some professional associations, the Law Society of Ontario does not require that professional liability coverage be purchased through them. Still, it does mandate some specific requirements that the paralegal insurance coverage must meet or exceed.

According to By-Law 6 of the Law Society of Ontario's by-laws, professional liability insurance for paralegals with a Class L1 license must:

• Have an aggregate policy limit of at least $2 million per year and a single claim limit of at least $1 million per year.
• Have a reasonable maximum deductible amount, as determined by the financial resources of the licensee.
• Include liability coverage for errors, omissions and negligent acts that could arise for a licensee with a Class L1 license.
• Have an extended reporting period provision for at least 90 days after the cancellation of the policy.
• Name the Law Society of Ontario as an additional insured to report claims and receive notice that the policy has been amended or cancelled.
• Include a provision that the policy can only be amended or cancelled with a minimum of 60 days written notice to the Law Society of Ontario.

While professional liability is the only type of insurance coverage required to be included in paralegal insurance, Ontario legal professionals need other types of insurance to ensure they are adequately covered. Professional liability insurance protects against the costs of being sued for specific reasons. Still, of course, there are many more reasons why you could have a lawsuit brought against you, and you'll need to be able to fall back on the financial support of insurance if and when that happens.

There may also be situations where clients, employers or other parties want you to provide proof of insurance for types of coverage other than professional liability, and you'll need to be able to produce a certificate of insurance that lists the desired insurance and coverage limit. For example, if you lease an office, it's common for the property owner to require commercial tenant insurance. Or, a client with whom you are conducting business online may want proof that you have cyber liability coverage.

Most paralegal Professional Liability is on a claims-made basis, the claim must be active at the time it is made, not just when the incident occurred. If your policy is cancelled and you are then sued for prior work, there is no coverage. An extended reporting period extends the claim window beyond cancellation. The LSO requires a minimum of 90 days, but you may need longer. Consult your broker.