CLM’s last conference event of the year kicks off in New York City on Dec. 5, 2019, with educational tracks addressing insurance coverage, extra-contractual, and claims & litigation management, followed by CLM’s annual holiday party. We take a look at the sessions to see what trends and topics are set for discussion.
In the Insurance Coverage track, attendees will be updated on a much-discussed topic: cannabis. In the session, “Emerging Coverage Issues in the Cannabis Industry,” presenters Wes Gilbreath (Continental Heritage Insurance Co.); Henry LeFevre-Snee (Clausen Miller); Kieran O’Rourke (Cannasure Insurance Services); and Seth Tipton (Florio Perrucci Steinhardt & Cappelli LLC) will discuss attempts by plaintiffs to assert claims under existing property and liability policies, as well as look at coverage challenges for new insurance products with untested policy language.
Additionally, the Insurance Coverage track also offers the session, “Coverage Jeopardy! Test Your Skills on Some of the Most Challenging Coverage Scenarios.” Helmed by Carolyn Crawford (Nationwide Insurance Co.); Jill Endicott (Dinsmore & Shohl LLP); Sheryl Leichenger (Selman Breitman); and Amy Thomas (Vela Insurance Services LLC), the session takes a gameshow approach to coverage questions. The topics covered will include responding to time-limit demands; deciding when Cumis counsel should be offered; and how to address late notice from an insured when a default has been taken, among other areas of discussion.
In the Extra-Contractual track, a two-part, year-in-review approach highlights the program in which a panel of industry professionals and legal experts will review and debate the most important 2019 extra-contractual cases from across the country. Panelists include Melissa Bailey (Copeland, Stair, Kingma & Lovell LLP); Sarannah McMurtry (Acceptance Auto Insurance); R. Wade Vandiver (Argo Group US); and Irene Yesowitch (Cozen O’Connor); Ted Colquett (Colquett Law LLC); and Raymond Tittmann (Wargo French LLP).
Additionally, the Extra-Contractual track will examine issues related to the intersection of claims-side compliance and extra-contractual exposure as well survey the various theories of liability; coverage implications and defenses; and the potential allegations of extra-contractual exposure related to abuse and molestation claims made against religious organizations and their clergy.
Lastly, attendees also have the option of attending sessions in the Claims & Litigation Management track, which offer topics on how to investigate slip, trip, and fall claims; managing tripartite relationships effectively; and how outside law firms can partner with clients to achieve cost containment on legal and litigation spend without sacrificing profits and long-term revenue.
Of particular interest is the session, “Keeping Up With the Techies: How Technology Is Raising the Bar for Risk Reduction and Assignment of Liability,” which will look at how high-tech systems and artificial intelligence can help capture data that can be utilized during the claims process. It’s being presented by Thomas Fama (Wood Smith Henning & Berman LLP); Rose Hoyle (AXA XL); Terence Kadlec (Envista Forensics); and Steve Lokus (Navigators).
Learn more and register at www.theclm.org.