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Management

Colby Allen

Colby Allen is a consultant with AgencyFocus who has over 10 years of industry experience in finance, operations, analytics, and project management. During that time he has worked with regional agencies, national agencies, and a regional carrier. Notable projects include refinement of agency finance and operational reporting processes as well as assist in acquisitions to…

Trends and Pressures on Today’s Claims Department

“By investigating a case aggressively at the outset, it was often possible to have a developed factual matter for analysis within 90 days, maybe as long as 6 months, depending on the cooperation of any third‑party claimant and other sources of information. By having that development, one could set accurate reserves earlier. The insurer would know where it stood, and actuaries could also have access to that data and reassess a particular book of business or a particular program to see how profitable it may be over time and make adjustments, rather than canceling a program as unprofitable, should development and accurate reserve setting take longer, such as years versus months.

Another important function was the interaction between claims handlers and underwriters. The two go hand in hand. Underwriters have a certain view of the world and ways they want to approach coverage, but it’s the claims people who must handle the result and keep up to date with the latest case law affecting liability and/or coverage. Such teamwork results in tighter and more successful programs including decisions as to whether or not policy language needs to be changed or the need to add additional exclusions based on developing appellate decisions that might create new perils. That level of communication was important, especially for innovative insurance companies. Where the intent is to cover something as communicated to the applicant, the claim department might not be aware of it, resulting in a claim denial.”

James F. Hughes III

I am an unique risk management and insurance professional, having worked in all three main sectors of the industry, insurer, broker, and risk management. More particularly, I have been a risk manager for a Fortune 50 company, an insurance broker, twice albeit in different roles in addition to being a wholesale insurance broker, and a…

Subtle Problems with Extended Reporting Coverage — and Creative Solutions- Part 3 of 3

“Overall, many of the more common issues were explored in previous articles. That is not to say, however, that these are complete solutions. I have long been of the belief that extended reporting provisions, when invoked, are an incomplete solution for long-term protection. That is because one is taking a limit of liability and stretching it across at least one year and sometimes six years or more. The limits, thus, are never refreshed. So, if there are any claims during the extended reporting term, policy limits are being eroded. This could mean that policy limits could be extinguished by claim frequency, and the benefit of runoff would be lost when that happens before the term had even run out.”

It’s Just a Name Change and Other ‘ERPS’- Part 2

“There are inherent dangers when a company is acquired, not only for the selling company, but for the acquiring company. It is not uncommon for the buyer to require the seller purchase several years of extended reporting coverage. This is because the buyer, when either acquiring the assets or the stock transaction, wants no exposure to any known or unknow liabilities created by activities before the acquisition.
We’ve all seen companies get acquired, with the seller invoking whatever extended reporting coverage they can acquire, sometimes at a significant price. But that is not the only problem, and this is where the approach and analysis become important. Asking the right questions is thus necessary to provide the appropriate financial protection to those involved, with the avoidance of any error and omission claim that might be made against the broker, despite whether they are simply following an “order take” standard or not.”

It’s Just a Name Change and Other ‘ERPS’- Part 1

“laims made insurance policies have existed for a long time. For specialty line insurance policies, such as directors and officers liability, professional liability, cyber liability etc., they are the most common type of policy issued.
They are complex, and depending on the definition of claim, as well as whether or not it’s a claims made and reported form, the policies can be extremely dangerous.
What follows is the first installment of a three-part series on the complexities involved in securing extended reporting coverage in conjunction with claims made policies. I have written numerous articles on claims made trigger problems, prior act problems, prior pending claim exclusions, etc. These only make the problems more dangerous for insureds and for insurance producers. However, and unfortunately, one important aspect of the policy that I’ve somewhat been lax to review in depth is the complexity of the extended reporting provision (ERP) and the ability to buy optional extended reporting period coverage, also known as runoff coverage and/or retirement coverage. Even my own article, The Dangers that May Lurk in All Claims Made Policies, raises extended reporting provisions, but not in depth.”

Public Adjusters-What You Should Know

As an agency owner I was unfamiliar with the role of a Public Adjuster, what they did and their purpose in the insurance equation. Upon selling my agencies, I was approached by a company to consider assisting them as a Public Adjuster. All of these years as an agent I was told to “steer clear”…

Andrew G. Sall

Andrew helps policyholders prepare, present, and defend their business interruption/business income claims and has been doing so for more than 20 years.  His success stems from his ability to understand and communicate the quirks and nuances of his clients’ businesses using both numbers and words. He has turned paltry claim offers and complete denials from…

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