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Studies in Ethics - A Hippocratic Oath for Insurance Professionals
Length: 3 Hours
Professional oaths are statements of common principles and they re-focus the oath-giver on the true principles of the profession. Interestingly enough, the principles of the Hippocratic Oath, have relevance to modern insurance practice. Dr. Robert Orr collected various authorities and suggested in a 2009 article that the core principles of the Hippocratic Oath are “the competence of the physician and the best interests of the patient,” which are then coupled with “compassion” and “moral commitment.”
With this background in mind, the first half of the seminar uses portions of the Hippocratic Oath to introduce core principles of ethical professional behavior. Competent representation and advice-giving are at the forefront of the first section; privacy concerns are the second. Preventative risk management for insureds is the third section; the Hippocratic Oath principles conclude with a discussion of community service standards overall.
The seminar then shifts to ethics studies based on real, insurance-oriented case law or scenarios. The fact patterns are developed from real cases or situations, which are presented to attendees. The fact patterns are modified in some respects to bring the ethical issues into sharper focus, while still maintaining the basic realism of the coverage or business questions presented. The names will be changed because of the changes in facts, but the cases and their actual outcomes will be discussed.
Basic Course Information
Learning Objectives- Hippocrates’ Oath Applied to Insurance
- Why Have Professional Oaths?
- A Powerful Simplicity: The CPCU Professional Commitment and the Nine Canons
- Three Real Case Studies
Major Subjects
- Professional Oaths
- Case Study #1: Cracked Bell Insurance v. Breezy Apex Condominium Assoc
- Case Study #2: Buckacres Construction v. Monuments Insurance
- Case Study #3: Asset Sale with a “Difficult” Book of Business
Richard Pitts, Vice President and General Counsel, Arlington Roe
Richard S. Pitts is a private practice attorney in the insurance industry. Rick serves as Vice-President and General Counsel to Arlington/Roe & Co., Inc., an insurance brokerage and managing general agent headquartered in Indianapolis. Rick also serves as general counsel to the Independent Insurance Agents of Indiana, Inc., as well as its sister organization in Kentucky. Rick speaks annually at the “Roadshows” in Kentucky and Indiana’s Agency Compliance Seminars and presents various seminars on insurance and employment related matters. Pitts has also presented continuing education seminars to insurance professionals nationally through industry groups including the National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research.
Rick is a 1983 graduate of Wabash College and a 1986 graduate of Indiana University School of Law – Indianapolis. Pitts clerked for the Honorable Patrick D. Sullivan, a judge of the Indiana Court of Appeals in 1986-87. Rick is admitted to practice before Indiana state and federal courts, the United States Supreme Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and is a member of local, state and national bar associations. Pitts has tried multiple cases and participated in over seventy appeals.
Pitts is the recipient of the “Excellence in Continuing Legal Education Award” from the Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum (ICLEF), having served as a panelist and lecturer on a variety of continuing education subjects. Pitts has co-authored two articles appearing in the Indiana Law Review.
This course has no breaks
