Schedule/Sessions
Breakfast & Keynote
We live in a world of accelerating change today. Evidence abounds all around us: take as a single example the shift from paper maps to real-time GPS on your mobile phone that has occurred over the past decade. Insurance is not immune: long resistant to change by design, the recent rise of insurtech holds the promise of a radically different future. While entrepreneurs and technologists are seeking to change insurance from the outside, industry professionals are also seeking to shape the future from within. Come learn from innovation expert and author Rob Galbraith why we are on the cusp of the end of insurance as we know it and how investing in your professional education is the best way to prepare yourself for what’s to come.
Back to topCost of Repair Estimates from an Exposure & Coverage Perspective
Cost of repair estimates form the basis for plaintiff’s settlement demands and damages presented at trial. In turn, cost of repair estimates prepared by the defense for general contractor/developers and subcontractors form the basis for their settlement offers and defenses to plaintiff’s damages at trial. This course is focused on how to value a construction defect claim based on plaintiff and defense cost of repair estimates and the coverage defenses that may be available based on what is contained in the cost of repair estimates. The instructors will discuss key items in the plaintiff’s estimate, how defense counsel evaluates the damage and liability exposure depending on who their insured/client is, what an adjuster needs to know in order to set proper reserves, how to determine what portions of the damages are potentially covered and a settlement value range. Key cases across the country as well as an in depth discussion of the contents of typical cost of repair estimates will be discussed with a focus on the cost of repair estimates utilized in Level 3 courses.
Back to topRisk Transfer in Construction Defect
- Speakers:
Lorraine Merritt, Skyward Specialty Insurance
Jillisa L. O'Brien, Law Office of Jillisa L. O'Brien, P.C.
This course will provide an overview of various types of risk transfer. The course will focus on contractual indemnity and to a lesser extent on additional insured issues. This course will discuss the primary types of indemnity agreements and will examine several real agreements to illustrate the differences. We will discuss what constitutes proper tender under an indemnity agreement and how to properly respond to requests for defense and indemnity by a third party. We will examine what rights and responsibilities pertain to each party in securing indemnity. We will also discuss the potential effects on available coverage under insurance policies as a result of in-place indemnity agreements.
Back to topOccurrence and Property Damages in the Courts and Legislatures
This course will focus on providing each claims adjuster and attorney with the tools required to effectively analyze insurance carrier duties to defend and indemnify insureds against construction defect losses in a variety of jurisdictions. We will take a nationwide look at how various courts have interpreted the terms "occurrence" and "property damage" in relation to the duties to defend suits and to indemnify insureds against damages in construction defect law suits. The course will specifically address the differing decisions of courts addressing similar facts and the rationale leading to those decisions. We will also address situations in which state legislatures have taken it upon themselves to create statutory definitions of these terms in answer to controversial decisions by state courts.
Back to topCoverage Triggers and Introduction to Allocation Issues
This course will explore the term "trigger of coverage" as that term is used within construction defect circles, including the reasons for the creation and application of the most common triggers, the types of triggers applied in connection with construction defect cases and methods of allocation. This course will also address national trends as well as case law and/or applicable statutes that pertain to trigger and allocation in those states where most of the construction defect claims are made. Finally, this course will identify those jurisdictions in which the law on trigger and/or allocation is either unsettled or deviates from the law in other jurisdictions in such a way that impacts the handling of construction defect claims in those jurisdictions.
Back to topProper Applications of Business Risk Exclusions
This course will explore the numerous policy exclusions commonly referred to as the “Business Risk Exclusions” or the “Work Product Exclusions.” The course will contrast these exclusions with the application of various related conditions including “property damage” and “occurrence” and will focus on how courts have applied them. We will discuss each exclusion and its intent as well as the relation of each exclusion to the types of claims seen most often in the construction defect context.
Back to topAlternative Dispute Resolution Methods and Practice
This course will provide an overview of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) types that are available. The course will cover when, why, and how the various ADR types are used. The course will explore how ADR is and can be used in construction disputes and will provide students with insight as to which ADR method is appropriate for a given situation. This course will instruct on effective implementation of ADR. When the course is complete students will have a solid working knowledge of ADR types and will be able to articulate when and why a particular type of ADR makes sense to use and how to achieve optimal resolution of a dispute.
Managing the "Split File"
This course will provide a general overview of why the insurer may need to split the file from the named insured, additional insured and/or coverage file. We will be discussing construction contracts as they relate to additional insured obligations and introduce students to common policy provisions. The course will cover obligations of additional insured coverages generally flowing from parties in construction project including owners, design professionals, general contractors, and subcontractors. The course will cover standard additional insured provisions and coverages to be included in most contracts, but particular emphases will be on the most commonly litigated provisions regarding additional insured issues and the need for splitting of files. The course will cover handling in the event of issues which may arise where coverage for the named insured may be effected by information which comes to light during the course of handling.
Back to topConsent Judgement & Bad Faith Set Up
This seminar will provide a multijurisdictional review of consent judgments and bad faith set up cases against insurance companies in such a way that insurance representatives, risk managers, and legal professionals will be able to identify the warning signs and typical triggers for consent judgments. Students will learn that in certain jurisdictions providing a defense subject to a reservation of rights letter does not foreclose the possibility of a bad faith action and can actually serve as a trigger. The students will learn about the potential impact that consent judgments can have on claims handling and how consent judgments can be managed.
Back to topSchool of Construction - Level 1 Learning Objectives
