Canadian Lawyer

September 2021

The most widely read magazine for Canadian lawyers

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30 www.canadianlawyermag.com Founded in 1991, the FCT group of companies is based in Oakville, Ontario, and has over 900 employees across the country. The group provides industry-leading title insurance, default solutions and other real-estate-related products and services to approximately 450 lenders, 43,000 legal professionals and 5,000 recovery professionals, as well as real estate agents, mortgage brokers and builders, nationwide. The Great Place to Work® Institute has named FCT one of Canada's Top 50 Best Workplaces for seven con-secutive years (2015-2021) and certified FCT as a Great Place to Work. their part. An E&O Complete policy would help the lawyer avoid defending a small claims court action or trying to resolve the issue with an unreasonable client. "This policy steps in, covers that cost and puts the problem to rest," Fagan says. "It has a lot of flexibility." The last product — Deal Protection Endorsement — is structured a bit differ- ently. For a small additional premium, it's included in the title insurance policy that the lawyer orders for their client, where FCT's insured is either a purchaser or a lender, except in BC where the insured is the lawyer. In the event of an error, the homeowner doesn't have to sue the lawyer. "The advantage is it's much quicker and less expensive for the homeowner, and also for the lawyer," Fagan says. "If the claim is covered under the endorsement, FCT covers that loss and no party has to face a potentially lengthy and costly legal battle. It provides coverage that otherwise would not exist." The Deal Protection Endorsement is only limited by the amount of the title insurance policy — if it's a $1M policy for the purchase of a home, that's the same amount that law- yer may benefit from — and it also extends, with coverage lasting as long as the title pol- icy. If a problem comes up three years after closing, it's still covered as long as it can be tied into that endorsement. Although it may seem like these products cover the same thing — an error or omission made by the lawyer during their handling of the real estate transaction — they actually offer different layers of protection and work hand-in-hand. "We have seen cases where we've been able to be there for the lawyer when they've made small errors, and what could have been a disaster was taken care of by these insurance policies," Fagan says. Adding that while FCT can't offer advice on how to com- pletely avoid errors — anybody can make a mistake — where FCT can provide assis- tance is by offering coverage when those errors occur. "Read about our products, give us a call, determine what we have to offer and how it can help your practice mitigate its risk," Fagan says. "You can't be 100% right 100% of the time, and in the current environment, it's that much more important to have a safety net." E&O PRODUCTS SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL FEATURE "You can't be 100% right 100% of the time, and in the current environment, it's that much more important to have a safety net." Brendan Fagan, Chief Underwriter and Senior Legal Counsel, FCT

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