From transportation accidents to construction defects and workplace injuries, insurance claims and litigation professionals respond to a wide range of incidents. While each discipline presents unique challenges, the industry has lacked practical, standardized guidance for incident response across practice areas. Recognizing this need, CLM established its Incident Response Task Force. The Task Force’s subcommittees have been developing resources containing guiding principles for incident response across CLM’s construction, cyber, property, transportation, and workers’ compensation communities, which will be made available to members and fellows soon.
CLM spoke with Incident Response Task Force steering committee co-chairs Michael J. Hallock, attorney, Hennessy & Roach, P.C.; and Diana M. Dearmin, outside counsel partnerships, strategic counsel & litigation management, Liberty Mutual Insurance, about how these guiding principles were developed and how they are intended to be used by industry professionals.
A Need for Resources
“Whether the matter involves transportation, construction defect, property, workers' compensation, cyber, or another specialty, the earliest stages following an incident often have a significant impact on the ultimate outcome of the claim or litigation,” explain Dearmin and Hallock. “Early incident response frequently involves critical decisions regarding evidence preservation, witness statements, expert engagement, scene inspections, and investigative strategy. As litigation becomes increasingly complex and the industry continues to confront the challenges posed by legal system abuse and nuclear verdict exposure, thoughtful and timely incident response has become more important than ever.”
The resource documents include sections containing crucial information and steps, such as foundational principles; pre-loss preparedness; immediate response protocol; coverage analysis and claim evaluation; communication and roles; post-claim review and continuous improvement; guiding values for all responders; and next steps.
Resource Development
“The task force recognized that while incident response principles often share common themes across disciplines, each practice area presents unique considerations that must be addressed,” state Hallock and Dearmin. “For example, transportation matters may require immediate scene response and coordination with liability experts, while cyber incidents involve entirely different investigative and preservation considerations.”
Each subcommittee, the co-chairs explain, identified both the universal elements of effective incident response and the issues unique to its practice area. The resulting guidance is intended to reflect the realities faced by practitioners within their respective disciplines while also promoting consistent best practices across the industry as a whole.
Practice Pointers in Action
According to Dearmin and Hallock, the practice pointers can serve as reference materials when developing incident response strategies, training claims and legal teams, and evaluating opportunities to strengthen investigative and preservation efforts following an event.
“More broadly,” they emphasize, “we hope these resources reinforce the importance of proactive, well-planned incident response. Effective incident response is not simply about reacting to an event. It is about making informed decisions early, preserving critical evidence, engaging the right resources, and establishing a foundation that will support successful claim resolutions and litigation outcomes. We believe these practice pointers provide a valuable framework for achieving those objectives across a wide range of practice areas.”