Carved from the banks of the Cumberland River, the Scottish links-style, par-72 layout offers 18 challenging holes bordered by limestone bluffs and enhanced by federally protected wetlands.
Back to topGrand Slam Round Robin Tennis Event - Here's a GREAT opportunity to play some fun doubles with other CLM attendees. Each round you will be paired with and against different players, so it's a great social mixer as well. This is one really fun and rare experience that you won't want to miss.
Back to topNashville Rescue Mission provides food, clothing, and shelter to the homeless, and recovery programs to those enslaved in life degrading problems. Their goal is to help people gain wisdom for living, find fulfillment in life, and become a positive part of the community. Volunteers will serve in the kitchen. Projects include food prep (chopping vegetables, panning desserts, cracking eggs), cleaning, and serving on the food line.
Saddle Up! is a non-profit recreational therapeutic riding program that serves children and youth with documented disabilities. Volunteers will help with needed farm chore such as painting fences, trimming trees, etc.
Back to topSecond Harvest Food Bank provides a central distribution center for companies, groups and individuals wishing to help provide food for hungry people in Middle Tennessee. Volunteers will work at the warehouse, completing a variety of essential tasks, most of which involve inspecting, sorting and packing food for distribution.
Back to topGraceworks Ministries is a central place for people needing help with food, clothing, and financial assistance. GraceWorks focuses on four areas—family support, instructional programs, seasonal needs and hunger prevention. Volunteers will assist Graceworks by tagging donations and cleaning the facilities.
Start the Annual Conference off right with a pre-Conference spa treatment. Specific spa services and times will be arranged later and paid directly to the Spa after treatment.
Guest option for Spa Day is also available from the Guest Only Event options towards the end of the registration process.
Join us in the home of country music, the Grand Ole Opry House, for a very special Annual Conference Opening Session. Winners of the 2017 CLM Professionals of the Year Awards will be announced. Keynote songwriter James Dean Hicks will inspire the audience with tales of overcoming adversity to find success. Hicks has written hit songs recorded by artists including Blake Shelton, Kenny Chesney, Reba McIntyre, Alison Kraus, and The Oak Ridge Boys. This will truly be an opening session to remember.
Back to topJoin us for the fabulous CLM County Fair. This kick off event will provide ample networking opportunities while you enjoy yourself on the midway's carnival rides, cheer on your favorite pig in the pig races, test your skill on the mechanical bull, and vote for your favorite pie in the blue ribbon pie contest. Some of Music City's best local talent will also provide entertainment on two stages throughout the night, so get ready to put on your boots and join in the fun. Don't miss out on this spectacular evening. (Included in the registration fee.)
Back to topNicholas Conca, Markel Service, Incorporated
Scott Hudson, Self Employed
Dave North, Sedgwick
Andrew Robinson, Skyward Specialty Insurance
Rick Taketa, Sedgwick
Our panel of CEOs of TPAs and Chief Claim Officers will share their perspective on the trends, challenges, and opportunities present in the industry today. The panel will look to the future of the industry and what companies and professionals must do to remain competitive and successful. This panel will provide a tremendous perspective from which to start the conference's first full day of interactive sessions.
Back to topLance Albright, QBE Insurance
Joseph Busher, Jackson O'Keefe, LLP
Johan Obregon, Kerley Walsh Matera & Cinquemani PC
Laura Zehner, Zehner Trial Consulting
Hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. attend sporting events each year. Typically, a spectator does not expect to be injured while attending. However, if a fan is injured, it's often argued that the fan assumed the risk of injury. In Major League Baseball for example, with more and more major league teams updating their stadiums, the fans are getting closer to the game. The new proximity of the fans to the diamond has resulted in serious injuries. Each year, approximately 1,750 spectators are hurt by baseballs at Major League Baseball games. Major League teams and their insurers often avoid any liability for their fans' injuries and expenses due to the Baseball Rule, which provides that stadium owners and operators, and their insurers, are not responsible for injuries sustained by batted balls or bats, so long as netted or screened seats are in place for a reasonable number of spectators. To further this rule, every MLB team has language on the back of their tickets regarding assumption of risk. This session will explore the assumption of risk arguments and the benefit to insurers, corporate counsel, and risk managers, as well as how a jury views the defense.
Takeaways:
1. Individuals assume the risk of injury arising from the event itself when attending sporting events.
2. Professional sports teams and venues are generally free from liability with respect to injuries to fans due to the nature of the sport.
3. Only a deviation in a relevant respect from an established custom will it be proper for an inherent risk case to go to a jury.
Constance Endelicato, Wood Smith Henning & Berman LLP
David Prisco, CARE RRG, Inc.
Christopher Smith, Self Employed
Since Brittany Maynard became the voice for the right to die with dignity, 25 states have heard her plea and are considering legislation. Once she was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor, the 29-year-old California resident relocated to Oregon, the first state to enact Death With Dignity legislation. Such legislation affords a person with less than six months to live, the right to ingest a lethal medication. Thereafter, California enacted similar legislation, which went into effect in late 2016. This session will focus on issues in risk management and litigation including, liability for mismanagement, providers' rights to opt out, Medicare and private insurance considerations, and ethical and moral issues involving conflict of interest.
Takeaways:
1. More education is needed for alternatives including hospice, palliative care, and Advanced Directives.
2. Death with dignity is not considered suicide rather physician assisted or otherwise.
3. Pending litigation against participating physicians is relatively non-existent.
Privacy and data breaches dominate the media. Unlike a traditional liability scenario, the insurance coverage comes into play long before a claim is asserted. Data breaches, privacy breaches, and business interruption loss from cyber events are complex and expensive. They also present new issues and challenges in how to resolve the claim or loss. Understanding and managing the moving parts of a data breach require some new tools and skills. This session will explore how to use old methods and develop new methods in handling the crisis.
Takeaways:
1. Every breach is different.
2. Don’t assume that it will just go away because nothing bad happened right away
3. Don’t forget about the regulators
Bonus takeaway: Hire a professional who is skilled in handling these events. Now is not the time to DIY.
Maribel Lopez, Pronto Insurance
Consuela Wilkes, Arrowpoint Capital
Scharome Wolfe, My Legal Wolfe
The session will focus on the impact of medical marijuana on insurance coverages and underwriting. The session begins by defining common terms of art used in the medical marijuana industry, and providing a brief history of criminal laws on controlled substances and the movement towards legalization. The discussion continues to include past legislation decriminalizing medical marijuana and expectations regarding 2017 and beyond. Details of the impact of legalized marijuana on various lines of insurance coverage and compares and contrasts insurance coverage for legalized marijuana with other highly regulated substances such as alcohol and tobacco will also be addressed. The session concludes with a discussion of ethical obligations and pitfalls attorneys and insurance professionals may face when advising their clients on this emerging industry, including a survey of how various state bars have handled this issue.
Takeaways:
1. The emerging trends in medical marijuana as they relate to the property and casualty insurance industry and the effects on first and third party coverages.
2. The disparity between federal regulations and individual state regulations.
3. Attorney’s ethical obligations concerning advising their clients.
Michael DeLonay, AXIS Specialty US Services, Inc.
Wayne Melnick, Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP
Jaynie Spies, Network Adjusters, Inc.
Thought your exposure ended 20 years ago? How about that undiscovered DNA in a drawer? Risk management and liability reduction is challenging for current law enforcement claims. What about the future? Technological advances have made this subject even more complex for insurers and defense attorneys given ubiquitous cellphones with cameras and the advents of officers wearing body cameras. This panel will look at types of potential law enforcement claims including misplaced DNA, excessive force, unlawful search, and claims we have barely even begun to comprehend.
Takeaways:
1. There is always the possibility that a new claim might exist as a result of actions from long ago as some causes of action do not arise until a person’s name is cleared.
2. As with any other insurance claim, coverage for legacy issues is grounded in the policy language.
3. What claims lie ahead is speculation – but we can make an educated guess based on today’s technology.
Tarush Anand, McGlinchey Stafford, PLLC
Brian Farrell, Ringler
Carolyn Finch, Self Employed
William Lambros, AXA XL
Michael McMyne, Norwiledest, LLC
This session explores some of the unique challenges and issues that can arise in the context of defending minor-plaintiff claims. The panel will engage in an interactive discussion with the participants. From the legal side, the discussion will include whether fault can be assigned to the parents or other adults; whether it is possible (and wise) to blame the minor; strategic decisions for depositions, experts, and trial; and handling conflicts between the parents and the minors. From the claims side, discussion points will include setting reserves for noneconomic damage claims by minors; challenges posed by the potentially very long statute of limitations; and whether there are any differences in claim resolution strategy when the plaintiff is a minor. Finally, from both the legal and claims perspectives, we will discuss the issues surrounding minor settlements, including the procedural requirements to obtain a valid and binding release, the need for an ad litem, and options to structure the settlement or fund in other creative ways.
Takeaways:
1. If a parent is at fault in causing the child’s injury, (a) decide whether it is strategically wise in your case to blame the parents and (b) analyze the applicability of the parental-immunity doctrine and its potential impact on the case evaluation.
2. Consider the long statute of limitations and the potential for claimed damages to worsen when setting reserves in a case involving injury to a minor where suit has not yet been brought.
3. When trying to settle with a minor, be aware of the court-approval requirements in your jurisdiction and consider creative settlement structures and other options to get the most out of your settlement dollars.
Anthony DiPietra, GladstoneWeisberg ALC
Andy Smith, Encova Insurance
Gene A. Weisberg, GladstoneWeisberg ALC
In homeowners and commercial water damage losses, insurers often are presented with large, and questionable, emergency remediation bills. Insurers and policyholders often are victims of these practices. Contractors' license laws typically require up front disclosures of information to the client, such as a cost estimate, with a written change order requirement if the price rises. Contractors use the emergency situation that water damage often involves to claim the up front estimate requirement does not apply, and then charge whatever they feel like charging. The overcharging often includes not only excessive and unnecessary work and pricing, but also rental of drying equipment that is brought to the site and not used. Insureds typically say the contractor told them they will accept whatever the insurance company pays, but if the insurer takes a hard line, the contractor may make a claim against or sue the insured, putting the insurer in the position of having to either pay or defend the insured outside the policy. This session will discuss applicable contractor license laws and requirements, and available tools to not only avoid paying unreasonable charges, but also to take the offensive against these practices.
Takeaways:
1.Sometimes it is the insured, as well as the insurer, who is defrauded. Working with the insured in those situations can benefit both.
2 When a contractor charges unreasonable amounts in emergency situations, the rush to overcharge often results in failing to follow the contractor’s legal requirements. This may give the insurer and insured an effective vehicle to avoid the money grab. 3. An insurer’s early observation and, if necessary, action in an emergency services situation can deter overcharges before they get too far along.
Dennis Galvin, Argo Group US
Joseph Garin, Lipson Neilson P.C.
Richard E. King, Melchiode Marks King LLC
Traci McGuire, Ameritrust
Joseph Mira, Mira Blanton, PLLC
Professional liability and commercial claims involve intelligent and sophisticated insured/clients. Nevertheless, some of the decisions these insured/clients make, or issues they wish to pursue before and during a claim, can be short-sighted and irrational. For example, consider the claim involving the solo lawyer who handles a high volume of personal injury cases with an army of paralegals yet only carries $500,000 in eroding limits and a $50,000 deductible. Or the claim of the doctor, lawyer, or architect who refuses to acknowledge any hint of malpractice until the day of trial and then insists the matter be settled for full limits regardless of the value of the claim. There's also the professional who does not want to pay his or her deductible. This session will present these and other claim scenarios and offer the perspective of claims professionals, brokers, and attorneys on how to guide these clients through the claim process to a quick and efficient resolution.
Takeaways:
1. Always keep in touch with your client and keep them informed (no matter how difficult)
2. If representing a design professional, even if not implicated in the claim, get involved early and figure out the facts.
3. Meet with the client early and in person and get the story from them.
Barret S. Albritton, Chartwell Law Offices
Debra Houston, FirstFleet, Inc.
Beth Koller, Cole, Scott & Kissane, P.A.
Michelle Middendorf, Stanley Steemer International, Inc.
Deborah Saunders, Comcast NBCUniversal
Much of the workforce does not go to a traditional office and work at a desk. Even for those who do, there can arise issues of bullying, romance, and interactions with nontraditional co-workers. This session will discuss the challenges faced in nontraditional work environments as well as interpersonal relationships within companies. How do companies guide employees who are going to be faced with the challenge of working with the public and how do they handle the implications of interpersonal relationships? If issues arise, what is the scope of arising out of and in the course and scope of employment for work related claims? This panel crosses over workers' compensation, employment and liability practice areas.
Takeaways:
1. Management of nontraditional employees focuses on communication. Open communication with nontraditional employees can change the course of litigation after an incident.
2. After an incident, rapid response and ongoing follow-up are the keys to controlling the claim from beginning to end.
3. The lines between work and personal life can be blurry when an employee works outside of an office setting. Management must be mindful of these employees and create an environment that is inclusive.
Lucy Ann Galioto, Sedgwick
Amanda Gann, Good2Go Auto Insurance
Angela Kopet, Copeland, Stair, Valz & Lovell, LLP
Marcia Nigro, Sedgwick
Hina Shah, Nationwide Insurance Company
This session will explore if the glass ceiling still exists, is self-imposed, or a natural by-product of women typically being the primary caregiver at home. During the discussion, Millennial, Generation Y and X, and Baby Boomer panelists will share experiences and consider the commonality and differences working for a company and a law firm. The roundtable and panelists will discuss if a problem still exists and what are potential resolutions or solutions moving forward.
Takeaways:
1. The last few decades have shown growth and involvement of women in the workplace.
2. While progress has been made, women are still underrepresented in positions of power and make less money than their counterparts.
3. There are a number of approaches that can be taken by businesses to break structural, cultural, and organizational barriers that limit women in the workplace, including equal pay, accommodating the unique needs of women, emphasizing what they can bring to an organization, and educating and supporting women in career development.
Larry Beemer, Tokio Marine HCC
Burke Christensen, Eastern Kentucky University
Ted Colquett, Colquett Law, LLC
Beth Green, W.R. Berkley Corporation
Doing the same thing over and over is not going to achieve a different outcome. It’s time to change the way we do things, explore better options, step out of our comfort zones, and try doing things differently. This panel will dissect the current state of extra-contractual law and litigation by exploring its economic costs and financial impact on insurers and policyholders, examining fresh ideas and dynamic defenses to EC claims and litigation, and achieving collaborative organizational implementation of the same to maximize successful outcomes and results.
Back to topJeanette Bourey, Markel Service, Incorporated
Janet R. Davis, Cozen O’Connor
Arthur Del Principe, Starr Adjustment Services, Inc.
Ron Goldstein, Aon
With securities litigation filings at their highest levels since the securities laws revisions in 1995, the number of securities claims is on the rise. There are also different D&O exposures and trends including cyber security claims, merger objection litigation, derivative claims, coverage for investigative costs for individual insured persons and the entity, 220 demands, impact of the Yates Memo, and many more. Learn about the market response to these emerging issues and how insurers are approaching D&O claims to try to manage the potentially catastrophic exposures, which are exacerbated by ever-increasing defense and electronic discovery costs, frequent demands for multiple defense counsel, and creative theories to generate liability in excess of limits.
Takeaways:
1. Insureds and brokers are insisting on innovative coverages to protect their corporate boards and assets.
2. Fewer regulations and agency subpoenas in the Trump administration could rapidly change the regulatory landscape.
3. The increased expectations on boards to be prepared for data breaches and new EU regulations may increase D&O claims activity in this area.
Scott Cornell, Travelers
Michael Diamond, Chartwell Law Offices
Tamara Warn, Superior Risk Management
Our consumer driven world relies heavily on the international, inter-modal world of cargo to get us what we demand faster and cost-effectively from around the world. Theft is a rampant problem that has a trickle down effect on the price we all pay for goods. As cargo transport becomes more sophisticated, so do the methods and means of cargo theft. This roundtable discusses current cargo theft trends and topics, and the insurers efforts to identify and hopefully stay one step ahead of the thieves.
Back to topCathy Gicker, Self Employed
Candace Padgett, Self Employed
Matthew J. Smith, Coalition Against Insurance Fraud
Are you tired of building the same medical puzzle only to having it shelved? You have completed your medical file investigation on the tenth claim involving the same parties, identifying the same issues thinking there is no more to do. Join this open discussion regarding additional investigational techniques to help move your investigation into the public arena.
Takeaways:
1. Understanding how to handle each investigation independently of others and to be thorough in the review of claim documentation (medical bills and records).
2. Understanding the necessity of selecting counsel who are skillful and passionate, who understand the importance the counsel role has in educating the judge on the need for battling back against fraudulent claims, and who can effectively present the case in court.
3. Understand the need to obtain commitments from senior leadership in the organization to financially and organizationally supporting SIU complex case projects/litigation.
Nicholas Barone, EisnerAmper LLP
Elissa Doroff, Mosaic Insurance
Cathleen Rebar, Rebar Kelly
Brian Robb, CNA Insurance
This session will combine the legal, insurance, and technical forensic aspects of a real world data breach scenario for discussion with the attendees. The scenario is designed to cover the range of scenarios, events, and expected actions needed for the collection, identification and analysis of a data breach. It then highlights for discussion, the aspects of technical, regulatory, legal, and insurance-related issues that are triggered from this event and how a collective response should occur. This session will challenge all levels of participants.
Takeaways:
1. Breach response starts before the breach.
2. Ignorance is no excuse for failing to have proper security measures in place.
3. Ensuring proper insurance coverage should not be optional.
Jennifer Assa-Kass, Nationwide Insurance Company
Debbie Champion, Rynearson Suess Schnurbusch & Champion
Paula Letterman, Unknown
Mitzi McLean, DaVita Inc.
Annissa Stanley, Metro Transit - Saint Louis
A diverse panel of claim professionals and defense counsel will discuss the chilling effect of litigation guidelines on outstanding representation. They will provide tips on how to identify situations where insurance companies may be losing money on defense because of the adherence to ill-fitting guidelines, and how to address and repair that problem. The panel will discuss why insurance companies return to certain attorneys who defend their insureds, and identify those characteristics that cause claims resolution professionals to recommend certain firms and attorneys to their colleagues. The session will include a discussion on how litigation guidelines should be an aid to ensure the best defense on a file while making costs manageable without losing sight of the bigger picture. The panel hopes to improve communication among all parties, align defense strategies, and help attendees achieve better outcomes on their litigated files.
Takeaways:
1. One size doesn't fit all--You can modify your guideline requirements based on file type.
2. You can make that relationship with your attorney/claims profession a happy one again.
3. You will understand how to act as the interpreter between attorney language and claims language so that everyone understands the concerns of the other.
Brian Bornstein, AIG
Anna Fron, Infinity Insurance Company
John David Gray, Kemper Insurance Corporation
Kelly Gray, Self Employed
Thomas Treadwell, MOBIS
Increasing media coverage is giving significant attention to criminal acts and public violence. These, in turn, drive debate over the political-issue-de-jour. For employers, business owners, and the carriers that insure them, however, such acts raise a unique litigation challenge from injured parties looking for ways to place liability at the feet of the deepest pockets. Who is responsible to protect the public from the criminal actions of a third party? Generally, no private person owes that duty. But whether the act was foreseeable may give a basis to argue that an insured business or employer had a duty to protect others from it. The session will discuss the development of the law concerning liability for the criminal actions of a third party, with particular focus on an analysis of what is foreseeable? The group will then discuss fact scenarios from pop-culture entertainment to pose questions concerning foreseeability and alerting industry professionals to potential pitfalls relevant to coverage, underwriting, and litigation management.
Takeaways:
1. Remember the General Rule: The Defendant is generally not liable for the misconduct of another.
2. Is your insured at risk? Don’t ignore the exceptions: foreseeability, control, special relationships.
3. In deciding how to manage a claim, expect discovery to address whether it was “foreseeable” that the kind of conduct at issue could have been expected given the type of business the defendant is in. Recognize that “foreseeability” is almost always a “fact question” for a jury.
Karolina Collier, Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance
Richard Thomas Long, Exponent
Amy O'Rorke, Sedgwick
Dean Rauchwerger, Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig LLP
Ryan Vesta, Crawford Global Technical Services
Fire spread liabilities arise out of catastrophic fires, where increased fire damages and risks are avoidable. This session focuses on often-overlooked significant recovery opportunities for fire spread losses as well as insights on defending fire spread property damage and bodily injury claims. Using interactive, real-world case studies, the session will highlight fire spread basics, forensic methodologies, and practical strategies for developing fire spread subrogation recoveries and the critical liability proof for recurring fire spread scenarios. Theories and optimum methods for prosecuting and defending fire spread claims for failures that allow small fires to grow large will also be discussed. The presentation will address fire stops, separations and resistive construction; defective or improperly maintained fire protection equipment and systems; flammable contents or construction materials; impairments, “change of use” issues, fire spread from adjoining properties; fire safety management, and building and fire codes as “swords and shields.”
Takeaways:
1. Fire spread liability is separate and distinct from fire cause.
2. Fire spread liability arises when a fire would have been limited in scope but for the failures of the active and passive fire protection systems (e.g. detection/alarms, supression and containment).
3. Developing fire spread recovery claims requires effective, efficient and strategic action.
Christopher Carucci, Gallagher Bassett Services, Inc.
Julia Manganaro, Navigators, A Brand of The Hartford
Richard Morton, Haight, Brown & Bonesteel, LLP
Fred Perez, McLarens
Lee Wright, Tokio Marine HCC
This session will include an in-depth discussion of the real-life challenges of determining the primary layer of coverage in various circumstances, such as when a CCIP is in play and an owner also has a primary layer of coverage, the participation of excess carriers, when triggered, and how to gain their participation, from inception or otherwise. It will also address the issue of conflicts, including joint defense agreements, and collection of deductibles. The final issue is risk transfer, and who can it realistically be assigned to, design professionals, manufacturers, or others left behind?
Takeaways:
1. When initiating a coverage and claim evaluation for a WRAP case keep in mind initial considerations such as obtaining the WRAP manual and enrollee list.
2. When dealing with cases involving WRAP policies, risk transfer options are largely non-existent such that methods used to evaluate exposure must be altered accordingly.
3. Exclusions that are typically standard on CGL policies, such as “Your Work,” are often amended on WRAP policies. Look for coverage alterations either by separate endorsement or within the language of the policy’s WRAP endorsement.
4. All policy terms and endorsements must be closely reviewed.
Maria Elena Abate, Colodny Fass, P.A.
Chevon Brooks, Brooks & Berne PLLC
Dwight Geddes, Metro Claims & Risk Mgmt
Municipalities such as counties, cities, and incorporated villages are often involved in a multitude of claims and litigation. Claims generally arise from accidents involving city-owned and operated vehicles, accidents on city-owned properties and facilities, lead poisoning in children, police excessive force, false arrest, and malicious prosecution. Additionally, there are employment claims, including sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation claims. In high profile situations such as after the Ferguson riots and the Sandra Bland case in Texas there have been millions of dollars paid out and recommendations made on procedural changes. In the many claims that don't make headlines, millions are paid annually to resolve thousands of litigated and pre-litigated matters. This session will examine how best to navigate the complexities of these types of claims while trying to reach an equitable result.
Takeaways:
1. Civil unrest, whether arising from peaceful protests, or as a result of violent organized activity, is a real part of today’s world.
2. Different types of coverages apply in times of civil unrest including first-party property, business interruption and contingent business interruption, extra expense and order of civil.
3. TRIA (Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act) and the addendums made in 2015 effectively limits insurers’ risk associated with terrorism losses.
Anna Barrett, Cincinnati Insurance Company
Craig Hartsuyker, Farmers Insurance Exchange
Vincent Venturella, Wolters Kluwer, ELM Solutions
All insurers have large amounts of information about litigated claims, including their resulting cost and loss. That information is a huge opportunity to improve case management if captured carefully and strategically applied. Too often, however, that vast information is used to generate metrics that are based upon imperfect data and those metrics show results as opposed driving results. Creating and analyzing metrics needs to be a serious and disciplined process, or those metrics will drive less than optimal results. To generate difference-making metrics, there are certain foundational strategies and disciplines you need to internalize and apply in order to create effective metrics. This session deals with how to think about metrics, types of metrics to build, and what practices must be in place to make information accurate and actionable.
Takeaways:
1. Understanding the 5 key disciplines for successful metrics programs
2. The importance of Data Integrity and Data Segmentation
3. Five foundational report categories for successful insights
The frequency of cyber incidents is growing at a steady pace, with no end in sight. Forbes estimates that the market for cyber insurance will grow from $2.5B in 2015 to $7.5B by 2020. This growth will inevitably lead to more claims and litigation that can spiral out of control if not handled properly. As the data to quickly provide accurate quotes enters the market, insurers and insureds of certain sizes and sectors need to work together to minimize potential losses before and after the inevitable data breach. The panel will examine coverages available under cyber policies, the related court decisions, and how insurers can work with risk managers to minimize risk and exposure. The session will also address how a claim trends, the expenses an insurer can expect to incur to comply with coverage obligations and how they can be controlled.
Takeaways:
1. Quantity and quality of data is improving and becoming a more meaningful tool in the cyber underwriting field. Data is being used for streamlining pricing models as well as crafting risk management services for clients and customers.
2. Don’t assume that a release of data request does not have an HIPAA impact just because the requestor says it is not HIPAA-related data.
3. Post-Spokeo fallout is still unclear to predict potential privacy litigation exposure.
Caryn Bellus, Kubicki Draper
John Campo, Branson, Brinkop, Griffith & Campo, LLP
Glenn Dienstag, Aon
Rachel Ehrlich, Judicate-West
Peter Webster, Carlton Fields
Trial and appellate judges, attorneys, and industry professionals will present this discussion regarding the factors that go into making the decision of whether to take a case through litigation and an appeal with a goal of developing precedent in various jurisdictions. The session will include a dialogue about the impact of the particular facts of a case, the need and ability to preserve legal and factual issues, and the view from the judiciary regarding new and novel issues. The panel will also present a practical discussion from the insurance industry's perspective of the business risks involved in deciding whether to attempt to obtain precedential decisions and the economic considerations of choosing whether or not to set a case up to seek review versus early resolution.
Takeaways:
1. Early involvement of appellate counsel can assist in evaluating a case early on for potentially significant legal issues, framing the litigation strategy and preserving key issues with an eye toward a potential appeal from a final or non-final order. Early case evaluation and early assistance of an appellate attorney may be particularly beneficial in situations where there may be trending or similar legal issues developing in several cases within a jurisdiction.
2. Although statistics generally indicate that appellate courts nationwide affirm more often than they reverse, experience, practice, and a review of published appellate decisions indicates that a party appealing an adverse decision has a greater chance of prevailing in an appeal involving purely or primarily legal issues, whereas discretionary or factual decisions of a trial court or jury are less likely to be reversed.
3. Always consider the impact any appellate decision may have on another claim, interpretation of key policy language, and the insured's business.
Mitchell Ayes, Callahan & Fusco, LLC.
Janelle Griffith, Lockton Companies, LLC
Karen Mascioli, Donnelly, Petrycki and Sansone PC
Teresa Milano, Woodruff Sawyer
The future of delivery transportation is upon us and it does not include a driver. Amazon proposes to use drones to deliver packages through its Prime Air program. Domino's Pizza wants to deliver your next pie with a drone. Fed Ex and UPS are working to bring your next day air package literally by air to your doorstep. Google has patented a driverless delivery truck and Uber wants to get you home with a driverless car. The advent of these self-driving modes of transportation raises a host of new questions. Who is responsible if there is an accident? How does the regulatory world of the FAA and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration impact these new forms of transportation? How does the lack of a human driver affect the owner's insurance coverage? How do these cross over into management liability policies? What can risk managers do to avoid potential exposure on these policies? The panel will explore how current liability, regulatory, and insurance paradigms may be insufficient to fully address these emerging technologies and start a dialog on how the transportation and insurance industries can develop strategies to address the not so distant future of the driverless delivery vehicle.
Takeaways:
1. Inconsistent state regulations dealing with autonomous cars are creating a risk that the cost benefits, anticipated by both the insurer and insured, associated with autonomous cars may not be realized.
2. A risk management plan should be put into place by any company that is seriously thinking of using commercial drones in order to mitigate the risk.
3. With the rise of autonomous cars, liability will likely shift from the consumer to the car manufacturer in a personal injury accident.
Barry Gerstein, Aspen Insurance
Claire Juliana, Aon
Brian Margolies, Kaufman Borgeest & Ryan LLP
Peter J. Mintzer, Selman Leichenger Edson Hsu Newman and Moore LLP
Kathleen Olear, Sompo International Insurance
This session addresses key emerging claims and coverage issues arising under the current era of pollution and environmental liability insurance policies, including on-site and off-site BI, PD, and cleanup coverages (EIL/PLL), contractors pollution liability (CPL) policies, non-owned disposal sites (NODS) coverage as well as environmental consultants' E&O coverages. The session will discuss recent case law and emerging trends from a practical claim handling/problem-solving standpoint. Issues such as claims-made and reported issues; prior or known incidents; misrepresentation/non-disclosure/rescission issues; stacking of multiple years of coverage; and overlap/interaction with CGL and other potentially applicable coverages will be addressed.
1.Resolution of coverage issues arising under pollution policies is jurisdiction-specific and outcomes can vary greatly from state to state.
2.There is very little published case law, nationally, addressing these claims and coverage issues to guide counsel and claim professionals handling matters under these policies.
3.Frank, timely and open communication between policyholders, insurers and other stakeholders is critical to effective claims handling under pollution policies.
Claudia Costa, Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani
Chris Lavelle, USLI
Laurie Mandell, Chubb
Jennifer Weinstein, Intact Insurance Specialty Solutions
While transgender Americans go unprotected by federal law, the Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Education (DOE), Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and many states prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity. Title VII is increasingly being interpreted to include protections for transgendered employees and consumers. Last month, the Supreme Court jumped into the fray staying a decision that would have required a school system to comply with Title IX and allow a transgender student to use the restroom of their choice. From Target to trucking companies, retailers and employers are increasingly being required to accommodate transgendered employees and consumers. North Carolina already lost $86.3 million by mid-April of 2016 and could lose an additional $481.2 million in the future due to the laws enacted in the state sanctioning discrimination on the basis of gender identity. This panel of experts will lead the participants in a discussion as to how to protect employers and businesses from liability, public scrutiny, and significant exposure.
Back to topChristian Bogart, Duplass, APLC
Bill Garcia, Del Norte Consulting Services LLC
Brad McCormick, Kubicki Draper
George Mix, Mix Sanders Thompson, PLLC
Bruno Para, Liberty Mutual
Angela Taylor, Cipriani & Werner, PC
This session will provide participants with practical information that can be adopted by anyone interested in advancing their relationships with key business partners. What does it take and what are the drivers for success in the legal services relationship? The panel will explore the strategic business relationships between corporate and insurance clients and their law firms. Topics addressed will include the current and future legal service delivery model — measuring the quality and results of case handling and outcomes, and alignment of client and firm goals. In addition, the benefits of transparency, substantive communications and knowledge sharing between stakeholders will be explored.
Takeaways:
1. Operational predictability and transparent communication are essential to building relationships that inspire long term sustainability between Corporate / Insurance clients and law firms.
2. Engagement planning, project management and effectively pursuing the uniform use of technology across organizations to optimize the delivery of legal services and outpace evolving business needs are keys to creating operational predictability in the pursuit of orderly, recurring and meaningful legal results.
3. Looking outward, law firms and Corporate / Insurance clients must share a clear vision and purpose and endeavor to create well defined business objectives and collaborative leadership structures that drive solution oriented plans through transparent communication and the mutual sharing of knowledge.
Peter Biging, Goldberg Segalla LLP
Dennis Galvin, Argo Group US
Ron Lepinskas, Vocke Law Group
Erika Nelson, Allied World Assurance Company, Ltd.
Apurva Vakani, Crum & Forster
Legal malpractice litigation is as old as lawyering, but we're at a crossroads. The emergence of social media and ESI has provided both enormous opportunity and new risks to navigate. From ethical use of social media to defamation risks and privacy violations, new potential traps in LPL claims have emerged. ESI creates additional issues, with expanding malpractice risks lurking in the investigation, handling, and preservation of ESI. There are risks in representing clients allegedly engaged in deceitful litigation activity, and complex cost management issues in low risk, but intransigent suits. This session will provide a blueprint for minimizing and managing these new age LPL risks.
?Takeaways:
Adam Doherty, Allied World Assurance Company, Ltd.
Margaret Erife, ESIS
Alan Freisleben, Freisleben Law Group
Jeanette Hernandez, Unemployed
Tom Moss, Tenco Services, Inc.
As the marketplace (and the world) advances with increasing speed, cycles of change occur more rapidly. How do you successfully cope with and manage change in your organization, leading from the front rather than the rear? Our experienced panel of claims professionals and counsel provide some solutions.
Takeaways:
1. Find a good mentor
2. Have a good networking source like the CLM
3. Maintain a good work/home balance
Jerry Hamilton, Hamilton, Miller & Birthisel LLP
Marisa Trasatti, Cipriani & Werner, PC
Kelly Wilcove, Assurant
Melisha Zeigler, Liberty Mutual
Corporate representative testimony can be tricky. This session addresses best practices in the evolving area of corporate representative testimony from in-house and outside counsel perspective.
Takeaways:
1. Pick the right witness(es) for the job. It is important for companies to provide a witness who will be knowledgeable with the specifics of the case and how to combat questions in anticipation of opposing counsel’s tactics, i.e. use of the reptile theory.
2. There is no substitute for preparation. Witnesses must always be prepared and have familiarity with the documents presented.
3. The witness must know that it is okay to say, “I don’t know or I don't remember.”
Bradley Aiken, McDowell Hetherington, LLP
Tim Diveley, Self Employed
Peter Loughlin, Assurant
Jodi McDougall, Cozen O’Connor
Fight back. The climate between insureds and insurers is more charged than ever. Every day, insurers face claimants that manufacture false claims or manipulate a claims adjuster into a bad faith lawsuit for the purpose of extorting money through bad faith litigation. Sometimes claimants work independently, but frequently a lawyer will choreograph the claims process towards litigation. This panel discussion focuses on taking the fight back to bad acting claimants and will apply equally to claims adjusters, in-house counsel, defense counsel, and insurance executives.
Takeaways:
1. Early recognition of a bad faith claim submission will pay dividends down the road.
2. Utilizing a team approach, including adjusters, managers, legal counsel and experts, can help to avoid traps set by a claimant.
3. Punching bags rarely win fights.
Teresa Beck, Klinedinst PC
Charles DePasquale, Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn
Stephen Henne, The National Catholic Risk Retention Group
Karen Kalzer, Helsell Fetterman LLP
Phil Krajec, RSUI Group Inc.
This session will address recent personal injury jury verdicts against religious institutions and non-profit organizations. The panel will address the extent to which the religious and/or non-profit status of these organizations hurts or helps them at trial. Discussion will include details about liability, damages, and information about the public perception of the organization. Participants will then opine about jury verdict outcome as well as verdict ranges as well as if the religious or non-profit status of the organization was a factor in the outcome. Attendees will also be invited to discuss trial tactics for enhancing the perception of the religious/non-profit entity in the cases addressed, as well as trial trends.
Takeaways:
1. Verdicts against religious and non-profit organizations are most often in the same range as verdicts against businesses.
2. If anything, religious organizations may be held to a higher standard by jurors – there is rarely a halo effect.
3. In assessing verdict ranges against religious and non-profit organizations, the most important factors are the nature of the injury and special damages.
Elizabeth Ganiere, McDermott
Irwin R. Kramer, Kramer & Connolly
Emily Shaw, Markel Service, Incorporated
Jonathan Ziss, Goldberg Segalla LLP
Although insurers complain of rising litigation costs, the percentage of cases going to trial has sharply declined in recent years. Nationally, most studies show that more than 90 percent of all civil cases are settled, that less than 5 percent are resolved at trial, and that even fewer are decided by juries. When jurors do return verdicts, they rarely reward plaintiffs who often receive awards that fall below pre-trial offers. If fewer cases are going the distance, are litigation costs really rising? If not, how may we explain what many trial lawyers believe to be a greater reluctance to take defensible cases to trial? Does the trend toward defense-friendly verdicts argue in favor of taking more cases to trial? Or, does this trend confirm the industry's wisdom in deciding which cases to vigorously defend?
Takeaways:
1. Use current data to increase the accuracy of your case evaluations and assessments.
2. Reexamine the implicit assumptions underlying Litigation Management Decisions in light of recognized biases against jury trials.
3. See the link between trying cases and case evaluation from the perspective of the claim professional and his/her chain of command.
Ginger Busby, Burr and Forman LLP
Amy Fredericks, Self Employed
Dianna McCarthy, Kaufman Borgeest & Ryan LLP
This session will address the NLRB's revised Joint-Employer standard, also backed by the EEOC, and its effect on the Franchisee/Franchisor Relationship. We will explore challenges to brokers and insurance carriers as respects to the possibility that employees of a franchisee could be considered employees of the franchisor and what that will mean for Misclassification of Independent Contractors, Staffing Companies, FLSA, and classic EPL claims. We will discuss possible remedies to avoid the situation where an insurance carrier underwrote a policy believing there to be 100 employees, but being faced with a claim from many more.
Takeaways:
1. We’re in a safe space for now, future unclear.
2. Will Browning-Ferris be overturned? We’ll have to wait and see.
3. Trump has the power to prevent a quorum with the NLRB and make it powerless to decide cases and approve regional directors.
Alicia Curran, Cozen O’Connor
Michael Hinojosa, National Claim Services LLC
Ramona Martinez, Self Employed
Bridget Moorhead, Selman Leichenger Edson Hsu Newman and Moore LLP
Caroline Swartz, IAT Insurance Group
In third-party liability claims, insurers frequently deal with pre-litigation and litigation policy limits demands from claimant's/plaintiff's counsel. These settlement demands often come with numerous conditions and short deadlines that require immediate attention from claim managers. Often the settlement demand was not intended to effect settlement, but rather to obstruct the insurer's reasonable investigation, and set the insurer up for an argument that its claims handling somehow 'opened' the policy limit. The issues center on the nature and extent of an insurer's duty to participate in settlement negotiations with injured third parties, and involve claims managers, defense counsel, coverage counsel, and mediators. This interactive session will focus on primary and excess carrier obligations to settle liability claims based on general principles of insurance coverage relevant to the duty to settle in most jurisdictions, focusing on certain problem jurisdictions, including a discussion of what makes a settlement demand reasonable, what constitutes an opportunity to settle within policy limits, and exceptions to the excess judgment requirement.
Takeaways:
1. Document your file, whether primary or excess, including/demonstrating your reasoning behind not settling or settling a claim.
2. In some states (but not all) even though you are excess, you may have to respond to a demand even if the primary has not offered (or in some states tendered) its limits to you and even if the claimant has not made a settlement demand.
3. Multiple claimants and multiple defendants provide their own special problems – get specific guidance for the jurisdiction you are in – don’t make assumptions.
Michael Brennan, Great American Insurance Group
Daniel Costello, Costello Ginex & Wideikis, P.C.
Becky Kenyon, Amerisure Mutual Insurance Company
Simon Keshishian, Red Bull
This session focuses on a road map for creating value. It will provide solutions for clients in setting standards and for their partners on how to create true value. This discussion will distill what companies/risk managers can convey to business partners to make their life easier and serve the core business needs, while also making counsel more important by creating true value. It will also provide real-life solutions from senior level management and successful firms on how lawyers have and can continue to create value for clients. This interactive discussion will elicit audience involvement and outline a concrete plan for risk managers, corporate legal, insurance professionals, and attorneys. The group will provide solutions, including metrics, information sharing, and shared business plans.
Takeaways:
1. Become a strategic partner – understand the carrier’s general litigation philosophy and the specific objectives of each case.
2. Think outside the box to find the best solution to a problem.
3. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate
Robert Abramson, Self Employed
Jorey Chernett, Authentic4D
Elizabeth Faudree, National General Insurance
Princess Spencer-Kuc, Renue Systems of Indiana
Knowing your adversary can result in more favorable results. Plaintiff attorneys have been using 3-D imaging in mediations and trials for years as visual evidence resulting in six and seven figure verdicts. Now many insurance carriers are using this same technology to expose exaggerated or unrelated injury claims. This interactive session will address the psychology of the plaintiff attorney — why they use 3-D imaging in their best cases and rarely invest their time and money to refute it, how to deal with plaintiff attorneys in pre-suit demand scenarios, the prevalence of attorney-driven medical care and ethical issues of overreading of MRIs. The session will also address how the use of 3-D imaging can effectively demonstrate a carrier's good faith efforts to fairly resolve difficult claims and assist carriers with reserving accuracy and earlier case resolution.
Takeaways:
1. Cutting-edge technology in MRIs will change the face of how you approach litigation.
2. This technology will affect your pre-suit negotiations with plaintiff’s attorneys.
3. This technology is easily implemented in insurance companies, has a fast turn-around time, and can save thousands of dollars in costs.
Teresa J. Dumire, Kay Casto & Chaney, PLLC
Guy Hollingsworth, Hanover Insurance
Barbara Laskaris-Lorigan, Golden State Claims Adjusters
Tony Piloseno, Westfield Insurance
Robert Zaralban, SEA, Ltd.
Anyone who has handled construction defect claims understands that they are very expensive and inefficient to litigate. On the flip side, time is often of the essence to claimants/plaintiffs who have the need to gather money quickly to make repairs before bad weather creates additional damage. The panelists will engage participants in sharing experiences where the use of innovative methods have been successful in convincing all parties to agree to engage in limited discovery with the goal of gathering enough information to have an early mediation and to possibly resolve the claim/case before more money is spent on the litigation than the case is worth.
Takeaways:
1. Cooperation among all parties is key.
2. Be prepared for mediations/settlement conferences, but don't think that you have to have taken evey deposition and reviewed every document before you can be prepared to attempt resolution
3. Be present, be involved and meaningfully participate.
Linda Bondi Morrison, Tressler, LLP
Michael Browdy, NYU Hospitals Center
Lisa Unger , Self Employed
Application of SIRs and deductibles has become a high-stakes business with the insured's and insurer's rights and obligations becoming more blurred in light of varying endorsements and developing law. This session discuss general guidelines and creative solutions to challenging issues such as: who owes/can pay the SIR or deductible; additional insureds' rights and obligations; financially impaired or bankrupt insureds; when multiple policies and different types of policies are triggered; how many SIRs or deductibles are owed; reporting to insurers within an SIR; contribution rights when non-SIR policies are targeted; and recovery of a non-paid SIR or deductible. Gain insights from the perspectives of a claims executive, a corporate director of risk management, insurer coverage counsel, and a broker involved in the placement of insurance. Also learn about newer products in the marketplace designed to eliminate potential gray areas of interpretation and application.
Connie Anderson, Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, LLP
Sally Combs, Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty
Melissa Demmon, Sompo International Insurance
In order to better serve their clientele and obtain a larger market share, many professionals provide a broad variety of services. These professionals typically have multiple areas of focus, licenses, certifications, and affiliations. As a result, when professional liability claims arise, issues are presented concerning what role applies to any given transaction, what duties are invoked, and what forum is required or preferred, which may be further complicated by the involvement of other professionals. This session will discuss the challenges and potential strategies for handling such claims.
Takeaways:
1. Determining the appropriate duty is not always clear cut.
2. Consider both substantive issues and the procedural roadmap when determining what forum to pursue.
3. Be aware of the potential for regulatory matters and the impact that they may have on your case.
Dana Applegate, Coaction Specialty Management Company
Nicholas Karacostas, ISC – Integrated Specialty Coverages
Michael Lowry, Wilson Elser
Paul Roberts, Consilio
Odds are everything your risk and claim management department does is measured. Everything your TPAs do is measured. Are you measuring your lawyers too? Data drives more informed decision making processes and your lawyers can be measured using the data you already receive from them. Using data to identify those lawyers who are providing good value will in turn help control your legal spend and may also drive more predictable outcomes.
Takeaways:
1. Measure everything and share the information: Corporate Law departments, carriers and law firms should track - by LOB and severity - their legal spend, total cost per case, shelf life, etc. Law firms cannot compare themselves to their peers. Consider anonymizing your data and share it with your firms.
2. Technology is always an issue, but advancements are making this easier: Carriers may not need to rely on multiple 20-year old systems anymore, as we are now moving to e-billing, matter management and analytic platforms.
3. Practicing law is still an “art form” so intangibles of counsel matter: It’s not just numbers (rates and years of experience) but also personality, specialties and passion!
Kenneth Carter, Merchants Insurance Group
Ronald Harrell, RDH Consulting LLC
Wade Loud, Lamarche Associates
David M. O'Connor, O'Connor & Associates, LLC
CGL carriers have traditionally taken the position that contracting parties cannot alter the construction or application of the insurance policy. This long-standing rule has been abandoned recently in several applications affecting both the policy procuring named insured and parties expecting additional insured status. The 2013 amendments to the ISO CGL additional insured endorsements are construed subject to the underlying contractual risk transfer. The new A1 pose a potential disconnect between familiar contract requirements and the available insurance protection. Of greater consequence now are the so-called “hammer clauses” appearing in many excess and surplus lines CGL policies. This session will provide an overview of the various developing policy terms that are dependent on policyholder contracts. The panel will discuss how claims involving these provisions are best managed in practice among the various stakeholders.
Takeaways:
1. Identification and description of newer GLC policy provisions affecting contractual risk transfer among parties involved in construction, project development, property management, leasing and staffing.
2. Appreciation of the increasing importance of valid and specific contracts underlying coverage covenants and the circumstances under which “named” and “additional” insureds may lose previously expected protections.
3. Familiarity with exclusionary clauses appearing with increasing frequency in standard and E&S lines CGL policies that parties should recognize, seek to avoid or, at minimum, contemplate when negotiating risk transfer.
Frank Sabaitis, Sabaitis Lunsford & Moore
Ian Stewart, Wilson Elser
Mary Ann Vorndran, Employers Mutual Casualty Company
Raymond Weisse, Ascot Group
Emerging technology has set the stage in the coming decade for the collision of the fields of product liability and cybersecurity/data privacy. This conflict will disrupt traditional paradigms for determination of liability. The Internet of Things (IoT), sophisticated autonomous robots, advanced medical devices and other innovative products have already blurred the lines, and overlap between product and cyber risk is already seen in litigated cases. The IoT is the third wave of the Internet, but the security of interconnected devices has been sacrificed for innovation. Similarly, robotics will give society the next transformative technology, but a new generation of sophisticated fully autonomous robots presents distinct challenges for managing risk and privacy. Failures of these new products will inevitably lead to product liability law suits and consumer class actions. This session will discuss the interaction between new players on the market, necessary changes to the current product liability system, the emergence of robolaw, the shifting landscape for risk transfer/contractual indemnity, insurance coverage gaps, problems caused by lack of uniform standards, mitigating risks for cybercrime and data loss, security by design, and the importance of sustained security over the life cycle of interconnected products.
Takeaways:
1. Identify the current state of the law with regard to mixed product liability/privacy liability arising from wireless connected devices and products.
2. Understand the developing market with regard to advanced Internet of things and robotic products with adaptive intelligence.
3. Recognize claims pitfalls and potential insurance coverage gaps in the developing area of mixed product liability/privacy claims.
Larry Brown, Epiq
Gordon Calhoun, Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, LLP
Heidi Gossett, NiSource
Keith Higdon, ESIS
Nicholas Martin, AXIS Specialty US Services, Inc.
Predictive modeling continues to be of interest in claims management. The struggle the industry has with predictive modeling is around implementation. This session will discuss current uses for predictive modeling in the claims process, challenges to implementation, and how best to overcome these challenges.
Takeaways:
1. The implementation of analytics is as much about culture and personal commitment at the desk level as it is about data and technology.
2. The use of technology and analytical tools reduces the volume of data that exists around litigation to create more seamless workflows and mitigate costs.
3. Demand that your team, in the broadest sense, use all technologies that are available and appropriate.
Jarret Lewis, The Hartford
Taylor Smith, Suite 200 Solutions
John Sparks, Fowler Hirtzel McNulty & Spaulding, LLP
Daniel Winkler, Westfield Insurance
The billable hour lives. Despite increases in alternative fee usage, even the most progressive companies and firms use hourly billing to a significant or exclusive degree. However, while the invoice presentment, review and appeal processes have matured, billing issues still persist. Time spent preparing, reviewing and adjusting bills remains a largely unnecessary drain on both company and firm resources and a continuing business relationship problem. This session will offer practical advice to ameliorate billing issues and provide a blueprint to use with the billing process to strengthen client relations and marry case handling efficiencies with bill preparation and review. Panelists will address best practices in pre-bill preparation and review, guideline compliance and expectations and the adjustment appeal process.
Takeaways:
1. Firms that refuse to match their billing practices to client guidelines are risking client relationships.
2. Communication and transparency are two important components to a successful billing relationship.
3. Firms can use their own metrics and analytics to improve their billing practices.
Robert Brunson, Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP
Ronald E. Bush, Bush Graziano Rice & Platter, P.A.
Susan Kaufman, Claim Insights, Inc.
Stephanie McGuire, Infinity Insurance Company
Bharat Varadachari, HeplerBroom LLC
The current trend among experienced bad faith plaintiffs' attorneys is to focus on institutional bad faith of the carrier by placing its internal policies on trial rather than the actions of the claims handler. Plaintiffs will argue that the carrier's corporate structure and internal policies inherently facilitate and encourage bad faith claim handling by placing profits over the interests of the insured. They argue that an insurance company should profit only through efficient and effective underwriting, and not the way claims against an insured are handled. This tactic leads to contentious litigation, extensive discovery of proprietary documents, and the taking of depositions from the claims handler to top executives. This session explore how to defend against these claims, and internal precautions that can be taken by the carrier to protect themselves.
Takeaways:
Trevor Gandy, Self Employed
Donna Johnson, Allstate Insurance Company
Deidre Katz, Walsworth - WFBM, LLP
Maria Stolfi, Swiss Re
What does diversity mean and is it really the end goal? As stated by diversity and inclusion consultant Verna Myers, “Diversity is being invited to the party. Inclusion is being asked to dance.” This session will address the differences between diversity and inclusion, and issues created by focusing on solely on diversity. The panelists will provide concrete ideas and methods for facilitating an inclusive environment, both within their workplaces and in their use of outside counsel.
Takeaways:
1. provide a workable definition of the terms “diversity” and “inclusion” and apply this lens to their roles and organizations.
2. understand how a strategic approach to Diversity & Inclusion can positively impact the talent, business and brand objectives of an organization.
3. discuss current societal and business realities which should help participants understand why a proactive approach to Diversity & Inclusion is in the best interest of leaders, teams and organizations.
Valerie Garcia, Hall & Evans, L.L.C.
Christopher Hass, Sedgwick
Michael Montgomery, Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig LLP
Misty Valentine, QBE Insurance
The national spotlight is on a growing trend — the legalization of both recreational and medical marijuana. This session will address the implications for claims handling and litigation in cases involving medical marijuana usage.
Back to topSamantha Bart, USI Insurance Services
Patricia Baxter, Morgan & Akins, PLLC
Nora Coleman, Self Employed
Debra Shore, Preit
In litigation and claims management, goals and exit strategies are not always aligned. Customers, insureds, risk managers, insurers, and TPAs may have different visions and/or exit strategies in mind when handling a claim or lawsuit. Throw in an SIR facing an inevitable exhaustion, and the main decision maker could change through the life of the claim/lawsuit. This session will explore these scenarios, from the perspectives of the risk manager, TPA, insurer and lawyer, and what is necessary to best advance the needs and concerns of all involved in the claims process.
Takeaways:
1. Early communication with all interested parties and carriers can alleviate issues
2. Gather and assess all insurance policies and indemnification provisions early in order to determine who has control and whose interest can and should prevail
3. Consider settlement with Plaintiff/Claimant directly and resolving internal disputes through alternative dispute resolution.
Seth Brickman, Business Risk Partners
Dove Burns, Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell and Hippel LLP
Kristine D'Amato, Crum & Forster
Catherine Lyle, Tokio Marine HCC
While litigation over accessibility as to physical locations has been litigated for years, website accessibility and third party litigation over ADA accessibility is on the rise. While the Department of Justice continues to delay publication of guidance, the litigation mounts and the decisions as a result are unpredictable and inconsistent. We will present the issue from every angle to encourage interaction and discussion as to the societal balance between technology and innovation and accessibility for all regardless of disabilities.
Back to topJim Foster, Cassiday Schade LLP
Sean McDaniel, Alternative Risk Underwriting (ARU)
Joseph Pappalardo, Gallagher Sharp, LLP
Caryn Siebert, Gallagher Bassett Services, Inc.
When a transportation accident involves a significant injury, it is crucial to manage that exposure from the outset. This session will provide strategies to successfully resolve transportation cases at mediation, to reduce both indemnity payments and expenses. Specific subjects that will be covered include pre-suit empathic approach mediations, timing of the mediation, and analysis of whether or not a mediator, who is experienced in transportation cases, should be selected. This Session will also include a discussion of the specific contents of a mediation statement, the decision to give an opening statement, and the use of physical evidence, including photographs, electronic control module and other electronic data, and biomechanical engineering testimony. The decision to apologize for an accident will be discussed, along with whether the defense should make an offer even if the Plaintiff has not made a formal demand. The session will also cover the decision to bring a structured settlement professional on catastrophic trucking cases and certain impediments to transportation mediations including outstanding liens and potential Medicare Set-Aside questions.
Takeaways:
1. Considerations for a successful mediation include the careful selection of the mediator, reducing plaintiff's expectations and a sincere apology by the defense, where appropriate.
2. Be cognizant of obstacles to a productive mediation including liens and Medicare set aside issues, and plaintiff's production of medical records on the day of the mediation.
3. The timing of a mediation is crucial, and setting it on the heels of filing a Motion for Summary Judgment or the disclosure of defense experts, can be very effective.
Garrick Gallagher, Sanders & Parks, P.C.
Steven Garrett, Swiss Re
Sharon Pole-Small, Great American Insurance Group
David Zehner, Zehner Trial Consulting
One of the central issues in litigation strategy involves how best to argue damages in a contested liability case. Studies, jury research, and interviews after trials where large damage awards were given have shown that arguing an alternative damage award can hurt the overall case on liability. However, not arguing an alternative damage award leaves the jury with only the inflated plaintiff request to consider. The ACA may offer a better way to address damages by arguing that “the law of the land” provides a legislative cap on life care plans because of the availability of insurance without screening for pre-existing conditions or lifetime caps. This session will discuss the feasibility and likely success of using the ACA as a way of arguing an alternative damage awards without undercutting the liability arguments of the defense.
Takeaways:
1. The strategic dilemma faced by defendants in attempting to present an alternative damage award in trials involving catastrophic injuries and how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) may present a way to avoid the problems typically faced in presenting alternative damage numbers for future health care.
2. How jurors view ACA evidence and the advantages and disadvantages in trial strategy of basing an alternative life care plan on the ACA.
3. The costs and steps necessary to present an ACA based alternative damage number to a jury and how claims professionals value this type of evidence.
Alan Brill, Kroll
Daniel Hecht, Sompo International Insurance
John Loyal, Cipriani & Werner, PC
Jason Meshekow, inTouch Insurance Services
Hillard Sterling, Self Employed
The Supreme Court's decision in Spokeo has made rippling impacts on standing jurisprudence in federal courts across the country. The Court made clear that plaintiffs must have suffered concrete harm in order to pursue their data-breach cases. But the decision was muddled, as the Court also held that intangible harm may be concrete in certain undefined instances. The result has been a tidal wave of cases addressing and deciding whether class-action plaintiffs' harm was sufficiently concrete. The decisions often have been contradictory and difficult if not impossible to reconcile. This session will analyze these cases and attempt to predict where the trends are headed. We will also assess and address the implications for insurers and insureds — their exposure and payouts in class-action cases, the manner in which they defend these cases, the impact on policy procurement and drafting, and the potentially difficult predicament of prevailing on standing yet ending up in a less-hospitable state-court forum.
Takeaways:
1. Determination of the likelihood of actual harm to victims of a data breach may well depend on properly securing and investigating digital evidence.
2. Identifying qualified forensic and digital investigations resources before an incident can save time when that time is in short supply.
3. Failure to properly identify and secure digital information may make it impossible to support your case with expert analysis.
Catherine Costict, Allstate Insurance Company
Bradley Eskins, Eskins, King & Marney, P.C.
Sara Parks, Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan
This session focuses on effective claims handling, litigation practices and strategies to confront claims for medical expenses and treatment incurred as a result of telephone solicitation. Case studies will be used to guide group discussions about other possible best practices to resolve these claims. Each case study will also include ethical considerations for the corporate counsel, defense counsel, claim adjuster. and the in house corporate representative.
Takeaways:
1. Document gathering is essential and can be accomplished through legal strategy and/or by utilizing new technology.
2. Determining unnecessary medical treatment can be discovered by comparing medical records and billing records.
3. Focus depositions with an understanding of solicitation law in your jurisdiction.
Brian Allen, Optum
Bill Austill, Austill, Lewis, Pipkin & Maddox, P.C.
Darrell Brown, Self Employed
The workers' compensation system is under attack. A group of U.S. Senators wrote the Secretary of Labor outlining criticisms of employers and their carriers and decrying what they describe as a “Race to the Bottom.” The news media has picked up the attack with a series of articles in Pro Publica that deliver a biased and jaded perspective on the system. While there are problems with the system, there is more good news than bad in a system that is a demonstrably successful benefit delivery vehicle. The system has also proven to be a successful change agent, promoting much needed reform, particularly in the areas of medicine, safety, and rehabilitation. This session will promote discussion on the areas of workers' compensation that are working well and the initiatives being championed by the workers' compensation industry to promote meaningful change in such areas as diversity and legislative reform.
Takeaways:
1. The workers' compensation "Grand Compromise," made over 100 years ago, has seen a lot of change, but is still a viable option for protecting both injured workers and employers. While the system may be bent in some areas, it is not broken. Recent efforts in a few states to create an "opt-out" are not an indictment of the system. Workers' compensation is seeing a small evolution as policymakers seek to find the right balance in the compromise between injured workers and their employers.
2. Tennessee is an example of one state that has made significant legislative and regulatory changes to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its workers' compensation system. The cumulative effect of those changes has been positive. In many states, the political climate is ripening for similar changes.
3. Recent attention to the opioid crisis has helped shape improvements in the medical treatment of injured workers. The devastating effects of long-term opioid use have caused policymakers to focus their attention on outcomes of care and how laws and regulations can influence those outcomes. This follows on the heels of many states adopting evidenced-based treatment guidelines to help improve the consistency and quality of care in their systems.
Christopher Greene, Canal Insurance Company
Robert T. Johnson, Catalytic Claims Services
Robert Olson, Greines Martin Stein & Richland LLP
Eleftherios Stefas, Argo Pro
With insolvencies haunting long-tail claims and the non-standard products in umbrella and excess coverage, navigating the shoals of a large claim, whether a discrete occurrence or a continuing loss can be interesting. The discussion will address attachment clauses and defense obligations. The experienced panel will provide some tricks of the trade.
Takeaways:
1. Communicate: Tender and keep excess carriers informed and in the loop. Excess carriers need to evaluate exposure early. Today's excess can be tomorrow's primary.
2. Identify the key push points early: Who is handling the dfense? Is resolution likely to require excess involvement?
3. Resolve the underlying case. Find a way to reserve inter-carrier disputes for resolution later.
Sanjay Bansal, Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck LLP
Kevin Fisher, Allied World Assurance Company, Ltd.
Gwendolyn Larkin, MedPro Group
Pamela Woodside, Self Employed
This session will address the evolving use of technology in the workplace and generally as a mode of communication and its impact on employment issues as well as its potential use and evidentiary value in legal proceedings. Topics to be discussed include privacy issues, social media issues, wireless devices, and employee's and employer's privacy expectations. Recent case law involving the interpretation of new avenues for communicating, including via emoticons, will also be covered. The panel will address the potential implications for insurance carriers and clams professionals in dealing with cases involving new technology.
Takeaways:
1 Area of “emoticon law” is still evolving and there are no bright line rules regarding how a particular emoji will be interpreted. Cases will be decided on a case-by-case basis.
2 Use of emojis and/or emoticons in the workplace may lead to employment claims such as harassment, invasion of privacy, potential NLRB issues.
3 Social media/emojis are an invaluable source of evidence in litigation. Practitioners should familiarize themselves with the laws governing access to this information as it can sometime be tricky and courts will be reluctant to grant access to private social media evidence where counsel has failed to show relevant information exists.
One of the more dangerous positions an insurance company can find itself in is when there are multiple claimants whose injuries exceed the policy limits. The scenario can be as complex as a tractor-trailer hitting a school bus full of children, or as simple as an insured rear-ending a car with three occupants. In either scenario, the company faces the Hobson's choice of determining which claimants should be paid and how much should they be paid. Worse, in this environment, plaintiffs' attorneys know that the only way to obtain full value for their claim is if the insurance company commits bad faith. While more expedient to simply tender to the first claimants that raise their hands, it may not provide the most protection for the insured or insulate the company from excess exposure. This session will explore the various tactics being employed by plaintiffs' attorneys to try and create extra-contractual exposure, and analyze how insurance companies across the nation are neutralizing these threats.
Takeaways:
1. The insurer should keep the insureds informed about the case(s), about all settlement opportunities, and the right to retain personal counsel since the insured’s personal assets may be threatened by the excess exposure.
2. The insurer should have a sense of urgency in gathering the information necessary to make informed decisions respecting settlement, and document all of the efforts to obtain such information.
3. The insurer should seek to obtain the maximum amount of protection for its insureds with the relevant policy limits.
Amy Cooper, Gallagher Bassett Services, Inc.
Cassandra Maloney, Veritext
Hedy Linette Ranieri, Berkley Technology Underwriters
Richard Ranieri, Weber Gallagher Simpson Stapleton Fires & Newby LLP
Schuyler A. Smith, Hamilton, Miller & Birthisel LLP
Twenty-five percent of the Baby Boomer workforce is eligible to retire in the next fiveyears. If you're not one of them, you'll be left behind needing to fill those positions with capable employees. Chances are, you may not have enough of the right people in your organization now to keep your company growing and successful. Additionally, are we in danger of developing a generation of attorneys who lack sufficient trial experience? Defense counsel can certainly have associates at trial, but how do we best tackle this training issue? The real problem is that trials are down markedly throughout the country, so when those big cases do arise in the next decade, how can the millennials be ready and prepared to take on that challenge? In this session you will learn how to attract the right talent to your organization, how to retain and motivate millennials, and what changes you can make now to start bridging the talent gap.
Takeaways:
1. Understanding how being from different generations changes learning, what motivates, and communication styles is key to leveraging the talent within your organization.
2. Millennials are the key to bridging the talent gap in our industry and organizations will need to adapt by investing in technology, learning how to motivate and retain millennials, and developing stellar training programs.
3. Claims will benefit long term by law firm partners working with associates to begin handling trials, and the conversation about balancing claims needs and attorney services needs to be a priority.
Richard Duffy, The Hartford
Vincent Gerbino, Bruno Gerbino Soriano & Aitken
Suzanne Gryb, MAPFRE USA
Dennis B. Kass, Manning & Kass, Ellrod, Ramirez, Trester LLP
This session will discuss the use of a declaratory judgment action to deter insurance fraud. It will also cover what types of claims are ripe for a declaratory action; why an insurance carrier would want to bring such an action; and the proper venue for the action. It will further cover how being aggressive in validating a carriers disclaimer puts the carrier in a better position to be successful then it would be in if it waits to be sued on a denied claim. Lastly, it will cover examples of different types of declaratory judgment actions that have previously been filed and their outcomes and/or results.
Takeaways:
1. DJ can be an effective weapon in the war against insurance fraud in the right instances.
2. As an adjunct to any DJ, be cognizant of possible ongoing duties to defend and/or indemnify, fulfilling your contractual duties and avoiding bad faith exposure.
3. Monitor how your DJ will affect all lines of coverage and the suits filed related to those lines of coverage.
Billions of dollars annually are lost, stolen, and wasted due to the actions of cyber criminals. A cyber attack has the potential to expose you to continuous and prolonged fraud and theft. This session focuses on how even the most challenging and catastrophic cyber attacks on retailers, insurance companies, and third-party administrators can be prevented and mitigated, without wasting time, money, and resources. The first step to successfully combat any cyber attack is to take measures to prevent it from ever happening. However, it is unfortunately usually not a question of if a cyber attack will occur, but when. This session will address implementing and enforcing the best practices to protect personal information and assets. Additionally, the panelists will detail a plan of attack to counter and mitigate the damage rendered from a cyber attack. Attendees will leave with a practical and useful understanding of who to retain to internally control and manage cyber security; how to virtually and physically protect from a cyber attack; how to mitigate potential monetary, reputational, and legal exposures from a cyber attack; and how to come out stronger and better equipped after a cyber attack.
Back to topRobert Biagi, The Hartford
Scott Katz, Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig LLP
Donald Liskov, Liberty Mutual
Tracy Yaun, AXA XL
This session will drill deep on the data collection process by insurers and their insureds, and specifically address those trends that litigation managers are now using to oversee litigation in general; select and supervise counsel and experts; control litigation spend; reduce indemnity payments; shorten the lifetime of the file; increase efficiency; and ultimately quantify the meaning of a successful result. The panel will address these issues from the perspective of the in-house litigation manager for insurers and self-insureds, as well as the impact these metrics will have on outside counsel law firms.
Takeaways:
1. Understand the pros and cons of using metrics as a tool in measuring defense attorneys.
2. Learn new methods for gathering litigation data using existing and new sources of information.
3. Discover the possible impact of data analytics on a company or department’s overall litigation results and costs.
Ed Bowman, Cumberland Insurance Group
Roseann Coughlin, Golden State Claims Adjusters
Zachary McCune, Rolfes Henry Co., LPA
Sarannah McMurtry, First Acceptance Insurance Company, Inc.
This presentation will discuss how drones or unmanned aerial vehicles or systems are affecting the insurance claim industry through the investigation and SIU process, as well as the construction industry. We will discuss practical, real-world uses for drones. We will also address relevant state legislation and FAA guidelines and rules, including the newest regulations for the use of small drones for commercial purposes. Discussion also focuses on coverage issues, including the Aircraft Exclusion.
Takeaways:
1.In continuation of what has been occurring over the past 2-3 years, over the next 3-5 years and beyond, drone use, in most every function of life and society, is going to increase exponentially.
2. On one hand, in both the construction and insurance industries, this will serve as an efficiency, quality, and, theoretically, safety driver as more tasks can be completed quicker, better, for less cost, and with heightened safety.
3. On the other hand, specifically in the insurance industry, the evolution of the types of claims and coverages impacted will continue to grow in new and unexpected ways, lockstep with the growing use.
4. Despite anticipated coverage arguments/positions/drone endorsements, because drone-use claims have yet to be heavily litigated, the insurance industry will operate with a significant amount of uncertainty as to how these claims will play out under their policies and whether the risk is being appropriately evaluated now.
Dan Berman, Wood Smith Henning & Berman LLP
Benjamin DiGiorgio, Community Association Underwriters of America, Inc.
Mark Sahl, Carpenter Hazlewood Delgado & Bolen, PLC
How to properly utilize millennials in the workforce and addressing ethical issues raised with millennials. Topics addressed include stereotypes associated with millennials, pros/cons of millennial behavior and how to combat/utilize these behaviors and ethical considerations when hiring/training/terminating millennials. The panel will also cover changing and managing expectations with millennials, how to properly mentor millennials, millennial interaction with clients, and job growth and equity ownership for millennials. The speakers will address what they see in their firms/companies and how they address millennial behaviors. Additionally, the audience will have numerous chances to join in and share their stories and secrets to success.
Takeaways:
1. Everyone must understand that there are differences between the Millennial generation and other generations in the workforce and that there are ways to manage these differences
2. There will be more turnover in your business with the Millennial generation and there isn’t always a good way to prevent this from happening
3. If you want to attract and retain good Millennial employees, you will need to make changes to your business model and allow for more flexibility in the workplace and provide more constant feedback to employees.
Jonathan Colman, Colman Perkins Law Group
James Davis, Self Employed
Aisling Jumper, Fair American Insurance and Reinsurance Company
$100,000 exposure with a $1 million policy limit? Piece of cake. The balancing act of handling litigation expenses with a minimum policy limit ($15,000) is challenging at best. How plaintiff's attorneys submit inflated expenses to force the payment of policy limits. How carriers and their counsel (in house and outside) must protect the insured while also 'pushing back' on questionable claims. How effective litigation strategies (task fees, flat fees) can make the fight fair. And how to successfully walk the tightrope between policy limits demands and the avoidance of excessive litigation expense. This panel of non-standard professionals and counsel will discuss the issues that infuse this issues and address successful strategies to benefit the carrier and protect the insured.
Takeaways:
1. Non-standard” policies are purchased by higher risk individuals, often recent immigrants to the United States. Such policies are highly customizable to the policyholder’s needs, are often more expensive than “standard” policies and have smaller limits. The “non-standard” market is growing and projected to grow in the foreseeable future.
2. Insurers should be aware of the challenges presented by the demographic of “non-standard” policyholders. The insurer should consider whether the policy should be written in another language, such as Spanish, to decrease misunderstandings in interpreting the policy’s terms and conditions. In addition, there is also the potential for misrepresentations on the part of the producer/agent when selling the policy which could create coverage issues once a claim arises.
3. In addition to the insurers being aware of the pitfalls associated with “non-standard” policyholders, defense counsel retained to represent the policyholders should also be also be aware of the challenges they may face. Challenges include locating and engaging with the policyholder, aggressive claimants’ counsel, and budgeting for defense and settlement with minimal policy limits.
Joseph DiFranco, Energi Insurance Services, Inc.
Bart Jay Robey, Chubbuck Duncan & Robey
Matthew Rosek, McCoy Leavitt Laskey LLC
Andy Thornton, ESIS
When accidents happen on a large scale, such as an explosion or fire, the amount of liability can be high. Following a catastrophic event, often the focus is on the origin and cause and the determination of liability. Hiring and managing experts to investigate all aspects of a case can be difficult and fraught with problems. This session will focus on initial assessment of a catastrophic accident, evaluation of the experts needed, and management of the various experts to obtain an efficient, proper and cost effective outcome. The presenters will pose the audience with example cases and discuss approaches to hiring/managing experts and investigation of catastrophic cases.
Takeaways:
1. Vetting, hiring and managing experts can be critical in complex cases.
2. Stay involved in all aspects of the investigation/exams and be sure the experts hired are looking at the right issues.
3. Continually evaluate your experts from initial hiring to trial.
4. If the expert is not the right fit, be prepared to bring in someone else.
This session will discuss how the sharing economy is complicating the world of insurance, from underwriting, drafting policies, claims handling, SIU, general investigation, to coverage determinations. We will explore the background and rise of the sharing economy, including ride-sharing and Airbnb. We will use real-life examples and hypothetical scenarios to show just how complicated Uber and Airbnb can make handling automobile and homeowners policy claims. We will also discuss local, state and federal regulations regarding the sharing economy.
Takeaways:
1. Handle and manage claims involving ride-sharing and home-sharing services, such as Uber and Airbnb.
2. Assess coverage issues and common exclusions involving these topics.
3. Ask the right questions in underwriting and the investigation process involving these issues.
Regan Katz, Wortham Insurance and Risk Management
Gary Leonard, GB Specialty (Division of Gallagher Bassett)
Angela Russell, Wilson Elser
Informed consent is both an ethical and legal requirement that has become a growing concern for healthcare providers, insurers, and claim representatives alike. Today, an individual seeking treatment for an illness may look for answers from the Internet to supplement his or her physician's recommendations. Similarly, some physicians are taking advantage of technology to streamline the informed consent process. The question becomes how technology changes the world of informed consent. Participants in the session will be invited to evaluate issues stemming from this new digital age and the legal and ethical impact is has on informed consent. This will include discussions about appropriate provider participation, consent for telemedicine procedures, preferred communication methods based upon patient status, problems with the use of and reliance on institutional forms and the importance of comprehensive policies.
Takeaways:
1. Even in the information age, health care providers must adhere to the same legal and ethical standards that have always been in place for informed consent.
2. The more disclosure the better: technology can be invaluable in the informed consent process.
3. Appropriate protocols and procedures must be adopted and followed to ensure that patients and providers alike are protected.
Tara Acton, Lumen Technologies, Inc.
Mark DiGiovanni, Global Indemnity
Chris Mandel, Self Employed
William Pipkin, Austill, Lewis, Pipkin & Maddox, P.C.
Millions of dollars are lost each year from fraud in the workers' comp system, and exponentially more across all of the insurance industry. At a time when businesses are doing more with less, few can afford the stressors and strains imposed by fraudulent actors. In addition to employee-driven fraud, providers and employers who circumvent the rules can cause as much or more loss and are often harder to detect. But organizations are fighting back with new tools such as social media and predictive modeling and having an impact in reducing the size of this exposure. Learn about the different types of fraud, the red flags that help identify them, and strategies to stop fraud in its tracks. Topics covered in this session will include learning the types of fraud; understanding how fraud is affecting the insurance industry and its many stakeholders; a review of a tool box of red flags most significant to identifying fraud; and, the developing strategies that are succeeding in combating and mitigating fraud.
Takeaways:
1. Claim fraud frequency is increasing even as overall workers compensation claim frequency is declining.
2. Learn the warning signs of employee workers compensation fraud and how social media is a rich source of evidence.
3. Understand the importance and ways of partnering with the right stakeholders to combat fraud.
Jeffrey M. Adelson, Bober, Peterson, & Koby, LLP
Michael Choo, Paradigm
Lisa Jurski, HCR ManorCare
There is an element of claims management that doesn't get much attention in workers' compensation. When a serious workplace accident occurs, the focus quickly centers on saving the injured worker's life. But with the immediate biomedical needs met, what about one's psychosocial framework? Research points to a strong correlation between physical and mental well-being. Effective mental health treatment can not only improve recovery outcomes, but also optimize return to work and other claims management metrics. Catastrophic injuries are typically complex and require the identification and implementation of very high level care. This should include psychological support to address the event, the injury itself, any residual disability and life after recovery. Experts will explore the psychological and emotional impact of complex injuries and how to effectively address these issues.
Takeaways:
1. How to avoid creating psychological issues from developing.
2. Approaches to handling psychological issues when they do occur.
3. The effect of psychological issues on return to work programs.
Carolyn Eldracher, Tokio Marine America
Howard Franco, Collins + Collins LLP
Shaun Jackson, Panda Restaurant Group
Kurt Leisure, The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated
Christine Zack, The AMD Card
Every day, millions of Americans eat away from home. It's convenient. It tastes great. It's reasonably priced. How do so many meals get served without event, why do some events occur and what can be done to avoid it? In this interactive discussion, the coffee will be warm, but not scalding. The session will cover food safety, staff performance and training, cleanliness, food safety, and proactive inspections. We won't count the calories, but we promise some sweet tips to keep your files moving, your reserves accurate, and those settlements complete.
Takeaways:
1. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has rigorous requirements that restaurants must meet for both physical and digital access.
2. The risk to the restaurant and hospitality industry for food borne illness requires vigorous quality control and careful insurance policy selection.
3. Restaurant and hospitality businesses are prime targets for cyber-attack requiring pro-active risk management in planning, procedures and response.
Darrell Brown, Self Employed
Dion Cominos, Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani
Lucy Ann Galioto, Sedgwick
Larry Goanos, AmWINS Group, Inc.
Stefano Minale, Tokio Marine HCC
M&A activity in the insurance world has been at an all time high with many large carriers acquiring other carriers in an effort to grow market share, promote efficiencies, save costs, and broaden product lines. This session will discuss how to make these combinations successful, what pitfalls can be encountered along the way, and recipes for successful win-win outcomes. Each of the individuals on the panel has significant experience with insurer consolidations either at a management level (as part of an acquired or acquiring company), as a broker (dealing with a combined entity in the marketplace), or as outside panel counsel (interfacing with insurers during the acquisition, transition and post-consolidation lifecycle phases). The session will offer something for everyone in the chain and provide constructive discussion on how to best navigate these situations to the benefit of all concerned.
Takeaways:
1. Which industry sectors are witnessing the highest levels of M&A activity and what are the factors driving same?
2. How will the continued consolidation of insurers, businesses and law firms affect the claims world?
3. What can be done to best insurte that all stakehol;ders beneit from the business combinations occuring in our industry?
Marina Gass, AXIS Reinsurance
John O'Connor, Sompo International Insurance
Michael Zigelman, Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck LLP
How does reinsurance relate and respond to events covered in the media? Significant worldwide events, such as earthquakes, wildfires, hurricanes, plane crashes, train derailments, oil spills, bankruptcies of major financial institutions, Ponzi schemes, and securities class action lawsuits can top the news. This session will discuss how reinsurance applies to these events. Specifically, the various types and lines of insurance will be addressed and how reinsurance responds if and when one or more of these underlying lines of coverage are triggered. The interaction between reinsurance and multiple responsive policies will also be addressed, as well as how the reinsurance claims department gathers and processes information regarding the overall potential exposure that these catastrophic/newsworthy events present. Discussion will also include the interplay between reinsurance and various towers of coverage, as well as the financial impact that these events have on the overall insurance/reinsurance industry.
Takeaways:
1. The interaction/relationship between the insurer and reinsurer
2. How seemingly unrelated events/catastrophes may implicate more wide-spread financial concerns
3. How many singular catastrophic events can ultimately create long-tail exposures for both insurers and reinsurers, and the impact of such exposure(s) on the market.
Elizabeth Fitch, Righi Fitch Law Group
Kelly Geary, EPIC
Edward Roesch, NAMIC Insurance Company, Inc.
Theodore Schaer, Zarwin, Baum, DeVito, Kaplan, Schaer & Toddy
PF Changs is reeling after an U.S. District Court ruled that its insurer is not obligated under its cyber policy to reimburse PF Changs for $1.9 million in PCI fines. Bitpay was deceived by a hacker into transferring $1.85 million to the hackers account. Imagine the shock of Bitpay when its cyber insurance carrier denied the claim. Why didn't the insurance agent or broker selling these insurance policies point out the critical policy deficiencies and the importance of the application representations? Ignorance or lack of due diligence is the most probable explanation. Insurance brokers are unnecessarily exposing themselves to risks because they are selling cyber insurance endorsements and policies without fully understanding them or their client's cyber risk profile. With the avalanche of cyber breach claims, companies are pressuring brokers to procure comprehensive cyber coverage. Companies are assuming that the purchase of a cyber policy provides complete financial protection. They assume wrong as do their brokers. When the cyber insurer rightfully denies coverage, insureds are looking to their insurance brokers to make them financially whole and are in turn triggering a new wave of litigation — errors and omission claims against insurance broker.
Takeaways:
1. Confusing Cyber Products have increased E/O exposures for brokers.
2. Cyber risk does not (yet) fit squarely within any one insurance product – not even a stand-alone cyber insurance policy.
3. Brokers Beware of the Renewal Process!
Jorge Cruz, Daniels Rodriguez Berkeley Daniels & Cruz, PA
Lawrence Gosewisch, Adler Murphy & McQuillen, LLP
Guy Hollingsworth, Hanover Insurance
Donna Hunt, Ironshore Insurance Company
In many states, design professionals such as architects and engineers enjoy protections against claims asserted by those with whom they have no privity of contract. Creative plaintiff attorneys are developing theories in an effort to bring direct actions against these professionals, such as claims for breach of implied warranty. For example, in a recent decision from the Illinois Appellate Court, the court rejected the effort by a condominium association to assert a claim of implied warranty of habitability against an architect for alleged design deficiencies in a condominium structure. The panel will discuss some of these theories and how they may affect the traditional requirement of establishing a breach of a recognized standard of care in order to establish liability. The session will also address how these efforts might affect defenses that have been afforded design professionals based upon the Economic Loss Rule, limitations relating to the scope of the contract, the need for privity of contract, and the rejection of third-party beneficiary status to those without privity. Coverage implications that could arise due to the potential for expanded liability against design professionals will also be discussed.
Takeaways:
1. While design professionals have traditionally enjoyed the protection of certain defenses against liability claims, they need to be aware that claimants and their attorneys are becoming more aggressive in their efforts to limit these defenses.
2. Methods used by claimants to seek recovery from design professionals include assignments of contract rights, attempts to impose an implied warranty of habitability, and erosion of the Economic Loss Doctrine.
3. Design professionals should consult with counsel and their insurance professionals to negotiate the most favorable contract terms and to seek the broadest available professional liability insurance coverage.
Rick Linville, Custard Insurance Adjusters Inc.
Cindy Poortinga, Hiscox
Matthew Stone, Stone Kalfus LLP
Tamara Warn, Superior Risk Management
If your company operates or insures trucks, or if you defend truck accident claims, you don't want to miss this session. The panel will lead an interactive discussion exploring trending issues and tactics in truck accident claims and litigation and some suggested counter-measures and strategies to improve the probability of a better outcome. The topics will include evidence preservation, offensive and defensive use of spoliation claims, handling the time-limited settlement demands used to set-up the insurer for a bad faith claim following an excess verdict, anticipating and preparing for the traumatic brain injury claim, deflating bloated economic damages, and what's underlying the spate of nuclear verdicts across the nation.
Takeaways:
1. Plaintiffs are changing their focus from making the claim against the truck driver to making the claim against the corporation. 2. Being proactive about publicity for carrier safety violations, policy compliance, driver training and regulatory violations.
3. Plaintiffs are trying to paint a much bigger picture of negligence for the jury.
Taking full advantage of the talent in Music City USA, Thursday night's event includes a terrific dinner and the first-ever CLM Music Festival. Following a fantastic dinner, venues around the hotel will be filled with the music from great local talent, including country, pop/rock, Irish bluegrass, and dueling pianos. Get ready to explore the sounds of Nashville and spend time with both old colleagues and new friends. (Included in the registration fee.)
Back to topKaren Furtado, Strategy Meets Action
Gareth Hedges, The Redwoods Group, Inc.
Melissa Hill, Sompo International Insurance
Dan Moore, Self Employed
Start your Friday morning off with a lively discussion on emerging technologies and how they may affect the industry and your career. This engaging session will cover the latest technological advances making an impact on the claims industry. The panel of experts will explore how the industry is embracing this change to improve customer experience and work flow. Learn what technologies are promising and which may just be hot air.
Back to topSun Choy, Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP
Starr Kincaid, Michigan Municipal Risk Management Authority
Ronald A. Mazariegos, Ambridge
William Oberts, Tribler Orpett & Meyer, P.C.
Sarah Schmitz, Intact Insurance Specialty Solutions
As the use of social media continues to skyrocket and develop, so do the challenges that employers, especially governmental entities, face. Social media is having an increased, powerful impact in the U.S. legal environment. For municipal employers in particular, more and more lawsuits involving law enforcement are being tried in the court of public opinion. What seemed novel in 1991 with the Rodney King video has now evolved to live video streaming on Facebook of the aftermath of a police encounter in Minnesota. Social media has is truly changing the landscape. Lawsuits are now being filed alleging First Amendment violations over recording of police encounters as well. How can employers and municipalities in general, best handle these issues? This panel will focus on the interaction between video and social media, primarily in the context of defending governmental entities and their officers; however this topic applies to several practice areas and the defense of various types of clients. We will also discuss the limitations and benefits of video recordings, timing of releases, live-streaming, impact of coverage by national media, the impact on average citizens who may later become jurors, and best practices regarding these issues.
Takeaways:
1. Many courts have held that individuals have a First Amendment right to record/videotape in a public places, especially when one is recording public servants, including the police; however, some courts have found that there is no such right to record unless it is accompanied a “challenge or criticism” of the police conduct.
2. The use of video has been increasingly used to assist police departments in obtaining summary judgment in some excessive force cases and can be effectively used to obtain pre-suit settlements through mediation.
3. The use of video at trial comes with benefits and challenges, including hindsight bias and counterfactual thinking.
Michael Saucier, Libby, O'Brien, Kingsley & Champion LLC
Stefani Schwartz, Self Employed
Jaynie Spies, Network Adjusters, Inc.
This session will examine recent issues and discernible trends in employment practices litigation. It will focus on best practices when faced with challenging claims involving a combination of hot button topics including continuing developments in whistleblower protection, social media use, transgender, discrimination, harassment and retaliation, supervisor liability in employment litigation and strategies and techniques to resolve cases at the mediation stage. The session will cover pre- and post-lawsuit claims handling and evaluation, insurance coverage issues, available defenses, and recent developments in the law. The objective is to explore, through interactive dialogue over hypothetical scenarios, practical steps to address recent developments facing the risk manager, insurer and counsel, along with a discussion of strategies to ensure that employment claims are resolved in the most efficient manner.
Takeaways:
1. Effective workplace harassment training is the best way to prevent lawsuits.
2. Limit your company’s exposure; supervisors should be familiar with not only the company’s policies and procedures, but the law.
3. Employment policies must be updated to reflect changes in employment law. Annual review and training is a best practice.
Meredith Cavallaro, Paduano & Weintraub
Rachel Freedman, Sompo International Insurance
Anne Jarrell, Attune Insurance
Carrie Kurzon, AIG
Kristen Perkins, Kennedys
The session will cover recent developments and what lies on the horizon for the EPL market. The panel will touch on trends within the EPL market, emerging concepts surrounding transgender and sexual identity discrimination, the fast-developing arena of marijuana in the workplace, government and private plaintiffs' efforts to liberalize joint employer liability and the latest disability and leave management conundrums.
Takeaways:
1. The EEOC under the Trump Administration is shifting away from an expansive interpretation of federal discrimination and retaliation laws.
2. The new administration is not expected to continue the prior administration’s permissive approach to state-by-state marijuana decriminalization or to clarify the ADA’s applicability to commercial websites.
3. States and municipalities may change their own enforcement priorities in response to changes at the federal level – remaining aware of state and local laws and regulations is essential.
Richard Finn, Burnham Brown
Julie A. Freitag, Navigators, A Brand of The Hartford
Bruce Kelman, J.S. Held LLC
Denise Montiel, Magna Legal Services, LLC
Evidence-based medicine integrates clinical experience and patient values with the best available research information. This session will focus on understanding jury psychology to effectively teach scientific and medical principals and concepts that are easy to comprehend.
Back to topDenise Anderson, Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig LLP
David Levy, Van De Poel, Levy, Thomas LLP
Phillip Wilbourn, Rimkus Consulting Group, Inc.
Ralph Woodard, Navigators, A Brand of The Hartford
Experts can be crucial to the defense of a construction case. Attorneys often rely on the participation opinions of consultants, such as general contractors and engineers, to investigate the merits of the claims, to press settlement, and meet their burdens of proof in defect matters. The need for an expert is offset by the growing economic concerns related to control spiraling litigation costs. This panel of experienced attorneys, claim professionals, and experts will explore when an expert is crucial and purpose, including the benefits of a neutral expert. The session will also explore the ways a cooperative tripartite relationship among counsel, carrier, and expert can create realistic budgets that are tracked, create guidelines for expert tasks, and define specific scopes of work for the expert.
Takeaways:
1. Determining the appropriate duty is not always clear cut.
2. Tracking an expert’s budget is just as important as obtaining a budget
3. Using an expert’s entire staff of task appropriate roles can be a significant cost saving measure
Perry Adanick, Rolfes Henry Co., LPA
Cassandra Kirkpatrick-Lee, Westfield Insurance
Larry Lee, Self Employed
This session will help attendees find the truth that often is found by understanding the deception found in statements. A discussion of real insurance claim statements will be used to strengthen not only statement taking abilities, but also understanding that even in deception truth can be found. The panel will also cover the legal aspects of statements and the importance of summarizing them correctly.
Takeaways:
1. You will realize that you have been overlooking the truth while seeking the deception or lies.
2. How to quickly recognize any statements balance for finding truth.
3. How to notice the change of language and what that means to you.
4. Recognize the importance of the unrelated information in a statement and how to use it.
Rita Gunning, Koch Foods
Brian Hunt, The Hunt Law Group, LLC
Paul Miller, Miller, Christie and Kinney PC
Rhonda Otto, Retirement Specialty Group
This session will discuss the state of truck safety technology, the necessary choices in application, and the policy decisions to be made by the carrier. The decision-making is complicated and one size will not fit all, but this session will walk through the decision-tree with some real-life examples. For truck safety technology, consideration must be given to the advanced safety system (including lane departure warning systems; adaptive braking systems; and collision avoidance/mitigation systems); features of the event recorder (one way; two-way; silent; sound); analytics generated by the selected system; and how to process and store the data generated by the advanced safety system or the event recorder. Consideration must be given to whether the technology is deployed predominantly as a coaching tool or as an accident investigation tool. Whatever decisions are made ought to be documented and an SOP ought to be generated for how the system will be used going forward so that implementation is consistent.
Theresa Bradley, ProAssurance Corporation
John Cattie, Cattie & Gonzalez
J. Thaddeus Eckenrode, Eckenrode-Maupin
Jennifer Sherber, ProAssurance Corporation
Join this panel for a full-court discussion on how to successfully defend Medicare Secondary Payer Issues. This fast break session will analyze strategies to steal for your playbook and to help you avoid air balls. The session includes tips for resolving past conditional payments with CMS and assessing when a Medicare Set-Aside is appropriate. Medicare compliance, how to pick and roll past frequent excuses from the plaintiff's bar, and top compliance recommendations for defense attorneys and claims professionals will be addressed. The session also includes a discussion on how to respond to objections from the plaintiff's bar to Medicare discovery requests, including how to raise these discovery issues with the court to avoid any fouls when you can't get plaintiff to turn-over the necessary information.
Takeaways:
1. The MSP requirements are always changing (note the 2/3/17 note from CMS to the medical community about upcoming LMSAs and NFMSAs).
?2. “Considering and Protecting Medicare” means proper reporting, repayment for past medicals, and a plan to address future medicals.
3. Start the process early in order to achieve the best results.?
Rachel Ehrlich, Judicate-West
Stephen Henning, Wood Smith Henning & Berman LLP
Phyllis Modlin, Markel Service, Incorporated
Robert Stahl, Amerisure Mutual Insurance Company
Irene Yesowitch, Self Employed
The participants in this session will actually decide the terms of a mediated settlement between two insurers. The panel, consisting of a mediator, two lawyers, and two claims professionals, will present a summary mock mediation. The lawyers will present the dispute in a neutral fashion to the group, akin to an opening statements, on behalf of the two insurers. The mediator will then elicit, from each claims professional the deal breaker terms, the negotiable terms, and the chatter terms. The participants will then discuss what they believe are the terms of a potential negotiated deal.
Takeaways:
1. The importance of understanding and managing clients' expectations
2. The difference between a win and a resolved matter
3. What it means to prepare for a mediation.
Shay Gilmore, The Law Office of Shay Aaron Gilmore
Richard Lord, NLC Insurance Companies
Adrienne Publicover, JAMS - Publicover
Jodi Swick, McDowell Hetherington LLP
Unfortunately, fraud is an unwelcome but persistent visitor to the world of insurance. Fraud — regardless of how and where it presents itself — is costly, time-consuming, and requires a vigilant focus to rout it out. These experienced panelists will discuss their involvement in detecting lies from the underwriting to the claim and the most innovative ways they combat these untruths. The session will also address the all too common occurrence of a lying witness and an unethical lawyer. Session facilitators will discuss their experience in exposing lies in litigation and using them to garner a favorable settlement or outright dismissal. Participants will also discuss innovative strategies for wrangling untruthful counsel and discuss long-term partnerships that can be fruitful in detecting and combating future fraud.
Takeaways:
1. Review the underwriting file and determine if fraudulent information was submitted prior to the claim. You may be able to rescind the policy, which could have a different standard of proof than denial of a claim.
2. In the claim, find the fraud you can prove. It may not be the false information that you originally identified but almost any fraud can serve as an additional basis in support of a denial.
3. In the litigation, bring the fraudulent information to the attention of opposing counsel and the judge early. For example, bring an early motion or schedule an early ADR. By exposing the fraud, you are driving down the value of the case.
Gerri Henley, Conner Strong & Buckelew
Bill Keville, Melick & Porter, LLP
Steven LaForge, Nationwide Insurance Company
Karl Sturge, Marlow Adler Abrams & Rotunno
Many states now require insurers to initiate settlement discussions even when the claimant or potential claimant has not made a demand. The session will survey the states to identify those that impose that duty on insurers and to provide an overview of when the duty is triggered. It will also identify issues to spot such as do you have a right to investigate liability and damages; does the duty to initiate settlement discussions impose a separate duty to tender the policy limits; what information should you provide to your PH in a third party situation as to how the insurer is complying with this duty; what happens when the claimant is the next of kin is of the wrongful death decedent, how is contact made, and, what should be the nature of the contact, and are there specific rules for the submission of releases that may impact the duty to initiate settlement discussions.
Takeaways:
1. The duty to initiate settlement discussions is a hot issue and generated significant recent debate.
2. Even if your state has the duty to initiate settlement discussions, an insurer who develops processes and trains on them will be ahead of the game.
3. Officially the Restatement of Liability is likely to take a neutral position on the subject.
Charles Alfonzo, Burnham Brown
Stephen Dzury, Premia US
Maria Quintero, Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP
This dynamic session examines the issues when the onsurer intervenes on behalf of an insured that is bankrupt, dissolved, or not in good standing, or has allowed a default to be taken. Participants will walk away with solid tips and strategies for dealing with these challenging situations.
Takeaways:
1. Don’t be blindsided. Know the consequences of a suspended corporate status in your jurisdiction and check the status of your insured.
2. Where required, disclose. Advise the court and the client and disclose the options to rehabilitate/revive the corporate insured.
3. When in doubt and where allowed, intervene. Protect the policy and the insured through direct appearance in the liability action.
Michael Aberle, MindMeld Studios
Gregory Cook, McAnany, Van Cleave & Phillips, P.A.
Timothy O'Hern, Nature's Grace and Wellness
Dean Rocco, Wilson Elser
This session features a cannabis industry insider, Timothy J. O'Hern, Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel of Nature's Grace and Wellness, along with claims and litigation management industry experts. The panel will guide a discussion about the issues related to legalizing cannabis.
Takeaways:
1. The cannabis industry has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry with participants at several points along the growth, production, transportation and dispensary chain.
2. Nearly all states have “legalized” or decriminalized medical marijuana, and an increasing number are moving to recreational use. The federal government has taken a hands-off approach in such states, but there are uncertainties given the new Administration.
3. The cannabis industry shares many of the risks traditionally seen in agricultural, manufacturing and retail industries. However, there are several unique risks presented by the industry. Beyond developing issues relating to the industry obtaining legitimate insurance coverage, those insuring and defending the industry must consider issues such as the lack of regulation as to manufacturing and labeling, the presence of cash and the workplace cultures found in some businesses.
Neil Selman, Selman Leichenger Edson Hsu Newman and Moore LLP
Mary Smythe-Ceko, Self Employed
Nelson Tavares, W.R. Berkley Corporation
Insurers and their counsel are facing the erosion of the work product privilege as well as the usually highly protected attorney/client privilege. The privileges are treated in different fashion by various states, and the process is made even more complex by the nature of the relationship between the insurer, its counsel, and the insured. We will discuss how courts can find a waiver, situations where the work performed by the lawyer is not deemed worthy of privileged protection, and where a prima facie case of bad faith can lead to a "fraud" exception to the attorney client privilege. We will also discuss the often used demarcation of "pre vs. post denial," and how that test works in actual cases. Additionally, when "advice of counsel" is invoked, there are also questions about the breadth of the waiver. This discussion will highlight the issues and discuss the major theories used in various jurisdictions and then open the discussion to take advantage of the experiences of insurers and counsel in this volatile, changing, and crucial area of insurance and bad faith law. How do, and how should, insurers communicate among themselves without it being discoverable, and how can all parties communicate in a manner so that what's said in confidence remains so?
Takeaways:
1. The Attorney-Client privilege is not inviolate in a bad faith litigation as in some states it simply is not allowed in such cases, and in other states, the privilege may depend on when the communication was sent, or the advice of counsel defense or whether the claim involves a crime or fraud.
2. Some work by counsel does not trigger the attorney client such as routine communications about general business, facts incorporated into communications with an attorney, and negotiations and business advice do not fall under attorney-client privilege.
3. Practical tips for protecting the privilege include only communicating with necessary parties, including legal advice, and avoiding normal claim handling as opposed to providing legal advice.
Steven Kroll, Connell Foley LLP
Kristin Seabrook, Pilot Travel Centers LLC
Antonio Trotta, QBE Insurance
With cybercrime on the rise and plaintiffs' attorneys becoming more aggressive in the data security area, corporate victims of a cyber attack have faced an onslaught of private litigation. An examination of recent decisions rendered in these actions have helped to provide an important roadmap for in-house counsel seeking to reduce its company's data breach-related exposure. The panel will highlight some of the most important practical tips that in-house counsel can take away from these recent private actions. For example, in-house counsel must be cognizant that anything the company says publicly about the strength of its data security measures may be used to support deception-based claims against the company in litigation resulting from a data security breach. Additionally, in the wake of a data security breach, courts may treat an offer of credit monitoring to consumers whose personal identifiable information may have been compromised as an admission that those consumers face a sufficiently imminent risk of injury to have standing to sue. These are just a few key issues to be discussed and highlighted for anyone serving in an in-house counsel role or working with in-house counsel in response to a security incident.
Takeaways:
1. Any statements made by a company representing its data security practices should be carefully drafted.
2. A risk assessment can serve as a valuable tool to a company in identifying and remedying potential vulnerabilities, as well as a defense or mitigating factor to a potential data breach lawsuit. As a result, in-house and/or outside counsel must carefully prepare risk assessment documents in order to solidify a company’s claim to privilege.
3. Companies should meet with a broker who specializes in cyber security well in advance of any data breach to review whether or not they have not only the right type of coverage in place, but coverage up to sufficient amounts to protect against the significant losses associated with a cyber incident.
Buses depart the hotel at 1:00pm. The afternoon begins with a stop at the Ryman Auditorium. From there, the group heads over to the Country Music Hall of Fame. Admissions included in pricing. Lunch not included
Back to topBegin the afternoon with a driving tour through the downtown area, including Fort Nashboro, Riverfront Park and The District. Stops include the Tennessee State Museum, Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park and Centennial Park with a tour of The Parthenon. Admissions included in pricing. Buses depart the hotel at 1:00pm and return at 5:00pm.
Back to topTour one of the South's great mansions, Belle Meade Plantation. The tour begins with the fully restored Greek Revival Mansion. Then you will spend time in the original Plantation kitchen where the southern cooks will let you participate in cooking and tasting southern classics. The tour also explores the kitchen's root cellar, herb garden and the largest antebellum smokehouse in the South. The final stop will be a sampling of five wines in the winery. Admissions to Belle Meade included in pricing. Buses depart the hotel at 1:00pm and return at 5:00pm.
Back to topHefeweizen or Pale? IPA or Stout? One of our local beer experts will guide guests as we explore two Nashville breweries and sample beer at each location. Snack packs provided. Buses depart the hotel at 1:30pm and return at 4:45pm.
Back to topNo Learning Objectives Available