Results For Articles or Consultants
Expert Witness - Litigation Support
Steve is a 30+ year veteran of property and casualty insurance claims. He holds the CPCU and AIC designations and is Past President (2006) of the National Society of Professional Insurance Investigators (NSPII). Over the course of his carrier career, Steve worked as a direct claim handler, manager, litigation examiner, senior claim specialist and director…
“An insurer’s knee-jerk denial letter cannot be saved from triggering the penalties [of bad faith] merely because the insurer’s lawyer is able to construct a post-hoc justification for denying coverage. “[I]nsurers that unreasonably delay the evaluation of the insureds’ claims [can be found liable for bad faith], even if the insurer’s ultimate assessment of the claim proves to be correct ‘”Holding otherwise could potentially result in insurers taking the gamble that a denial based on a cursory review will be rescued by a clever trial lawyer.”
I serve as the Principal of Insurance Claims and Litigation Consultants, LLC, a firm that provides expert witness services and testimony on claims and lawsuits involving insurance coverage, bad faith, underwriting, agent-broker liability, regulatory issues and good faith claims handling practices. I also provide consultation and oversight of pre-suit and litigated coverage matters that potentially…
R. MICHAEL STROMAN SUMMARY R. Michael Stroman has over 42 years of experience in the insurance industry. Currently serving as an industry consultant, he assists insurance purchasers, insurance companies and agents, and their attorneys, accountants, and other industry advisors, with agency management, claims consulting, underwriting practices, standard of care, and other technical assistance. Mr. Stroman…
Social media claims against individuals are increasing, yet insurance coverage
for individuals for such claims is rarely available unless the insured has a personal
injury endorsement to the standard homeowners policy or the insured has an
umbrella policy, or the rare company-specific insurer includes such coverage. This
suggests a market opportunity to provide this coverage. Underwriting this exposure
will likely require examining social media as a new rate factor. Obtaining relevant
information on this and showing predictive indicators is one challenge, particularly
where social media use liability might be correlated with other factors, including
other external data. Such factors will have to be approved by state insurance
regulators and shown to be reliable and not unfairly discriminatory. This will likely
open these factors to underwrite other coverages and policies, even if not approved
or reliable. Some social media use might actually be a business pursuit, thus
requiring this added coverage. A media liability policy crafted for the new exposure
might be more effective to provide coverage if underwriting the factors can be
regulated.
Lezlee Liljenberg, entered the insurance business in 2004 as she started her first agency from ground zero, growing the business to over $6 million in revenue in less than 12 years. Ms. Liljenberg holds a BA in Journalism/Public Relations and a MA in Political Science/Public Administration from the University of Texas at Arlington. She is…
Brenda Powell Wells holds both a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Ph.D. in Risk Management and Insurance from the University of Georgia. She holds the Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), Accredited Advisor of Insurance (AAI) and Construction Risk Insurance Specialist (CRIS) designations. She also holds a graduate certificate in Business Analytics from East…
