This course will cover achieving optimum results in mediation though sophisticated tactics and techniques. There will be a discussion on the best way to prepare for mediation to tee up effective negotiation. The discussion will include developing a team between the claims professional and counsel; effective opening sessions; and impasse breaking techniques. The course will include case studies to demonstrate the application of the suggested techniques. The course will be interactive with an opportunity for questions and answers. 

This course will address property, liability, workers compensation and medical fraud. The goal is to provide claims adjusters and risk managers with a nuts and bolts approach to identifying and investigating fraud. In addition, the course will address proactive recovery remedies available to insurance carriers, including the Federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, the Corporate Practice of Medicine Doctrine, bad faith laws, common law fraud and other state law remedies. In addition we will address the use of policy provisions as they relate to fraud claims.

As the world of claims adjusting faces increasing judicial scrutiny, proper claims handling is more important than ever. Learn practical best practices for adjusting a claim from tender through litigation, including how to perform a thorough investigation, methods for developing necessary documentation and the importance of timely and appropriate responses to tenders. If a coverage lawsuit develops, learn strategies for continuing those good faith adjusting practices, including if and when to consider settlement, and how to avoid “set ups” and other common pitfalls. The course will discuss rights to independent counsel and preemptive strikes to assure solid footing in addressing questionable or difficult claims.

This course will cover claim evaluation and risk analysis assessment methods used to determine settlement values & develop resolution plans. This will include a discussion of the relevant issues & factors to consider when evaluating cases including coverage, liability and damages as well as costs & risks of litigation. This will include use of case studies to demonstrate the application of the case evaluation & risk assessment methods. The course will be interactive with opportunity for questions & answers.

Although class action litigation can be alarming from the perspective of insurers, these lawsuits can be successfully defended and efficiently managed to avoid excessive costs and unfavorable outcomes. This course is intended to provide claims professionals with the fundamentals of class action litigation. Through case studies and group discussion, the course will also provide strategies for successfully defending and managing these unique lawsuits.

This course will address contexts in which construction defect cases typically arise; the parties involved; theories of liability and theories of defense; forums for resolving claims; scope of damages and cost of repair issues; basic insurance coverage issues; indemnity and additional insured status considerations, and; resolving the claims.

Employers and carriers are often confronted with the prospects of ever-escalating medical costs from providers who treat excessively, inappropriately, or both.   These providers seemingly have little inclination to place the injured worker at maximum medical improvement or release the worker from further treatment. 

“Escaping the Pill Mill” will address the options available to employers and carriers, providing them with a blueprint to either eliminate the unnecessary treatment or de-authorize the medical provider from providing additional excessive or inappropriate care.

This course will teach methods for evaluating additional insured status under CGL policies and the distinction and interplay between additional insured status and carrier coverage obligations to insureds for contractual indemnity. Learn about various forms of additional insured endorsements and indemnity agreements and practical tips for negotiating and compromising shares in various contexts, including construction defect. The session will conclude with an interactive discussion and analysis for problem solving involving hypothetical claims.

This course will address arson/theft, workers’ compensation and third-party fraud claims.  The goal is to provide claims adjusters and risk managers with information on how to identify and investigate claims for fraud.  In addition, the course will address the litigation of such claims and the role of claims personnel, investigators and counsel during the handling of the claim pre suit and post suit, of whether or not to pay a claim and the roles of counsel, investigators/experts.

This course will address the fundamentals of Litigation Management with focus on how to make cost-effective decisions to achieve the best possible case resolution based on cost/benefit analysis. The course will cover the essential tools of litigation management: Hiring and Evaluation of Counsel, Litigation Procedures, Billing Guidelines, Issue Identification/Development; Litigation Plans; and Litigation Budgets. This will include use of case studies to demonstrate use of these tools. The course will be interactive with opportunity for questions & answers.

Learn about all the services offered by jury consultants, including the pros and cons and relative cost of each. Determine the factors that should be taken into consideration when deciding whether to engage in jury research, and when to do it. Further, through videos from real cases and role playing activities, you will be able to see the types of things that can be learned before a jury is ever selected.

This course will look closely at High Exposure/High Risk Professional Liability claims.  The course will put an emphasis on early identification of difficult cases and will examine the impact of “Bad Faith” laws on High Risk claims.  The course will offer solutions to difficult claims problems.

Accountant claims come in many forms.  This course is designed to break down the basic structure of these claims and to discuss the process of evaluating exposure and moving the claim through litigation.  Accountant claims can occur in any area of practice at any stage of the delivery of accounting services.  This course will help the beginning adjuster recognize types of claims defense strategies.

This course will give an overview of Architects and Engineers Professional Liability.  The goal is to give adjusters who work in other lines such as GL and WC an idea of what the differences are in the coverages they handle and Professional Liability. 

Insurance agent or broker claims come in many forms.  This course is designed to break down the basic structure of these claims and to discuss the process of evaluating exposure and moving the claim through litigation.  Insurance agent or broker claims can occur in any area of practice at any stage of the delivery of the process.  This course will help beginning adjusters recognize types of claims and strategies.

This course will provide a basic overview and understanding of legal malpractice claims.  The goal is to serve as an entry level course providing adjusters, risk managers, underwriters and defense attorneys with a basic understanding of legal malpractice claims.  The course will look at the anatomy of a claim and will explore types of claims and types of defenses.  The course will also identify areas that serve to be problematic in analyzing and defending legal malpractice claims.  In addition, the course will provide an overview of the interaction between the claim and the policy and the tri-partite relationship between the insured, the carrier and defense counsel. 

Non-profit director and officer (“D & O”) claims come in many forms.  This course is designed to break down the basic structure.  Non-profit “D & O” claims can occur in any area of practice at any stage of the delivery of “D & O” services.

This course will teach non-lawyers who regularly receive legal invoices to review a legal bill to insure the charges are reasonable, necessary and in accordance with the prescribed guidelines set forth by the carrier / client and what may have been previously agreed to in the litigation plan. The course will also discuss how to resolve issues when improper entries are found and still maintain a partnership-based relationship.

This course will provide an overview of the litigation process. In addition to generally examining the various phases and processes of a lawsuit, the course will explain the terminology and vocabulary one encounters in litigation. The course will utilize case studies that will simultaneously provide examples of different litigation situations and serve as a discussion tool to address strategy issues and general questions. The course will be conducted by highly experienced litigation attorneys who are also very familiar with claims handling issues, and will be interactive with opportunity for questions & answers.

This course serves as a follow-up to the Litigation 101 course, and explores more deeply the pleadings and motions that one often encounters in litigation. As part of providing a more detailed explanation of major pleadings and motions, the course will utilize case studies that will simultaneously provide examples of different pleadings and motions and serve as a discussion tool to explore different strategic and practical considerations involved with pleadings and motions. The course will be conducted by highly experienced litigation attorneys who are also very familiar with claims handling issues, and will be interactive with opportunity for questions & answers.

This course serves as a follow-up to the Litigation 101 course, and provides an in-depth look at the discovery process. The course will utilize case studies that will examine the various different components of discovery (including e-discovery), discuss the benefits and costs associated with discovery, and will explore different strategic and practical considerations involved with different discovery tools. The course will be conducted by highly experienced litigation attorneys who are also very familiar with claims handling issues, and will be interactive with opportunity for questions & answers.

This course serves as a follow-up to the Litigation 101 course, and provides a more detailed explanation of what happens during trial, including the preparation activities that immediately precede trial. This course will discuss the different components of the typical trial, and describe the different activities that counsel are involved with as they prepare for trial and as the trial progresses. The course will use case studies to provide practical examples of what happens during trial and serve as a discussion point to examine different various strategic and practical considerations claims adjusters and counsel may encounter as trial progresses. The course will be conducted by highly experienced litigation attorneys who are also very familiar with claims handling issues, and will be interactive with opportunity for questions & answers.

Understanding the mediation process, selecting the right mediator and developing strategies are important decisions in the alternative dispute resolution process. As a claim professional, learn selection techniques, scheduling issues and preparation strategies for maximum impact for your mediation. Study classic triumphs and horror stories in mapping out your own road to success.

This course will be an advanced discussion and exploration of the purpose of Section 111 of the Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 (MMSEA) 42 U.S.C. 1395(y), Medicare Set-Asides, and Conditional Payments as they apply to insurance companies and their adjusters.  Section 111 of the act compels mandatory reporting to Medicare by both Group Health Plans (GHP) and Non-Group Health Plans (NGHP).  The main objective of this course is to insure that the adjusters fully understand Medicare Set-Asides, Conditional Payments, and the purpose of Section 111, including its provisions, notification requirements, the reporting timeline, and the penalties that will result from noncompliance with this law.

This CE will examine various claims handling issues that frequently arise in the context of modern pollution policies (i.e., contractor’s pollution policies, pollution liability policies, tank policies), including: the interplay between general liability policies and pollution policies; various state laws as to what constitutes a "pollutant" or "pollution condition"; other insurance issues; enforceability of express choice of law and forum selection provisions; and independent counsel requirements. Additionally, this course will address emerging risks that have the potential to impact pollution policies, including Chinese drywall, green construction, climate change litigation and tracking.

This course will cover negotiation strategies and tactics. There will be discussion of negotiation tools such as bracketing, hi/low agreements, etc. In addition, it will include discussion of ADR including mediation, arbitration, mandatory settlement conferences, etc. This will include the use of case studies to demonstrate the practical application of negotiation strategies, tactics & tools. The course will be interactive with opportunity for questions & answers.

This is a hands-on, interactive course. First, participants will consider dynamics such as costs, exposures, external pressures, internal issues, time considerations, etc. Second, course participants will make real-time decisions in simulated multi-faceted negotiations. This course builds upon the negotiation skills learned during the CLM Negotiation Strategies course. Although the Negotiation Strategies course is not a prerequisite, Negotiation Strategies 2.0 assumes participants are familiar with the concepts presented in the first course.

Premises Liability Lawis a set of laws that make an owner or possessor of land or a premises responsible for injury sustained by persons who are on the premises.  Owner liability can include public sidewalks and / or access ways in front of the property.  Common law duty of care owed by an owner varies depending upon the status of the person injured.  The course will cover the types of Premise Liability Cases, Status of Injured Party, investigating the premises liability case, acts of employee claims, statutory liability and contractual indemnity.

Reserving rights is a critical aspect of claim handling and implicates a host of important considerations – including an insured’s potential right to independent counsel. This course provides a methodology for coverage issue identification and outlines steps to preserve insurance company rights to disclaim coverage for defense and/or indemnity. The program will explain the basic requirements for a proper "reservations of rights" letter, including necessary policy provisions and state-mandated language. Once rights are reserved, you will learn how to evaluate the insured’s right to independent counsel, what constitutes a "conflict," and the consequent obligations of counsel, carrier and the insured. The course will be interactive with opportunity for questions & answers.

This course will suggest tasks that claims, adjusting, and legal personnel can perform during and shortly after sudden events (like chemical releases) that could lead to mass toxic tort claims. The goal is to provide detailed, practical suggestions that should facility the handling and ultimate resolution of claims likely to result from such events and, if necessary, assist in the defense of litigation over the event. Additionally, the course will suggest what types of third-party experts can assist with these tasks, how best to use them, and how to synthesize available information to process, adjust, and evaluate claims. The course will also suggest pre-event planning, coordination, and communication that should assist both claims, adjusting, and legal, and also emergency response personnel during such events.

This presentation is designed to provide an overview of the primary coverage issues presented by a construction defect claim under a CGL policy.  This presentation will review provisions in Insuring Agreement, exclusions, conditions, and practical considerations that claims handlers should know.  A discussion of choice of law and the duty to defend will also be included as they relate to construction defect claims. 

The proper selection, use and management of the expert witness can make or break your case, as well as your budget. This course will focus on the most common pitfalls that befall even experienced trial attorneys and claim professionals during the expert phase of litigation. Topics to be addressed include identifying when an expert is needed, criteria for selection, managing the expert's budget, communicating with the expert, privilege issues, preparing and defending the expert at deposition, effective use of the expert at trial and more.

This course will teach attendees how to use structured settlements to help get cases settled, including their use in evaluation and negotiation. Topics will include what structure settlements are, the applicable law & tax regulations including the new Medicare Secondary Payer statute, and why, when and how to use structured settlements. The course will include discussion on introducing and presenting structured settlements in negotiation and pricing future benefit streams to determine present cash value. The course will include case studies to demonstrate the use of structured settlements. The course will be interactive with opportunity for questions & answers.

This course will provide guidance substantively on how to investigate transportation claims, defend industry related issues, and resolve through mediation or trial. The course will also address how to cost effectively undertake such matters.