Each year PAMIC hosts the annual Claims Summit, which draws over 300 attendees and over 40 exhibitors including law firms, restoration companies, and other related businesses. Topics include litigation updates and popular claims trends, making this Conference the most significant claims focused program in the mid-Atlantic region. CE & CLE Credits are offered to those in attendance.
Agenda:
Tuesday, April 18th
7:30 - 8:15am: Registration / Continental Breakfast
8:15 - 8:30am: Welcome / Opening Remarks
8:30 - 9:20am: Keynote Presentation
Robert Labar, PA Chief Deputy Attorney General, Chief of Insurance Fraud
9:30 - 10:20am: Litigation Update
Mike McKenna, Esq., Margolis Edelstein
He’s back! Join Mike McKenna as he highlights "The Year That Was" in the often-unpredictable world of litigation. What have the Courts been up to and how does that impact you?
10:30 – 11:00am: Networking Break
11:00 – 11:50am: Nuclear Verdicts: What Are They?
Sean L. Phelan, Esq.
Litigation Partner at Margolis Edelstein
William D. Longo, Esq.
Litigation Partner at Margolis Edelstein
Lawrence. J. Crawford, CPCU, ARe, RPLU, AU
Senior Vice President, Global Claims, North America
Guy Carpenter
This presentation will explain what nuclear, or "surprise", verdicts are and provide recent examples from various Pennsylvania venues. We will offer analysis as to some key updates in the law (and practice of law), such as the hotly debated medical malpractice venue rule, reptilian tactics, post-Covid juries, social inflation, "judicial hellholes" and third-party litigation funding which may be driving these alarming outcomes. The presentation will also provide perspectives from both the defense and plaintiff's bars, with a specific focus on how to attempt to prevent these at times unavoidable case outcomes from day one of receiving the claim notice to trial.
12:00 – 1:15pm: Lunch
1:15 – 2:05pm: Collision Course- When Courts and Regulatory Authorities Inject Themselves into CAT Events
Scott Rybny, Chair Insurance Coverage & Extra-Contractual Liability Group, Morgan & Akins
Catastrophe planning and response is not easy under the best of circumstances. Rarely are those claims adjusters recognized for their tireless efforts in potentially dangerous circumstances. That task becomes even more daunting when courts and departments of insurance seek to inject themselves into the claim handling process. From the Case Management Orders issued by Courts to the various proclamations from Departments of Insurance, handling CAT claims is becoming more fraught with peril than before. How should an insurer handle a CAT claim in the face of court orders or administrative decrees that seek to limit an insurer’s ability to defend coverage or adjuster activities or rewrite the insurance policy? This presentation will not only provide insight into the legal bounds of these entities but will also provide practical guidance for insurance carriers and their representatives who regularly handle these challenging claims and regulatory issues.
2:15 - 3:05pm: Seeing the Forest AND the Trees (Breakout Session)
Dale Forsythe, Wayman, Irvin & McAuley, LLC
Richard Andracki, Andracki, Sysack & Artman, PC
From a tree falling on a neighbor’s house, to roots tearing up a sidewalk, to timbering outside of the intended property boundaries, claims involving trees are ubiquitous in the world of insurance and defense litigation. This program will look in depth at the variety of claims that can be presented, examine the liability exposures involved and discuss the defenses that are available. Pertinent statutory and case law authority will be analyzed, and a breakdown of coverage aspects of these claims will be offered. Finally, an expert will discuss how to place a value on trees, both aesthetically and as timber, and highlight what to look for to see if a tree is unhealthy and at risk for falling.
OR
2:15 - 3:05pm: Erosion & Decay in the Household Exclusion (Breakout Session)
Chris Gallagher, Thomas, Thomas & Hafer
Chris Gallagher from Thomas, Thomas & Hafer presents an evaluation of the Gallagher and post-Gallagher case law in the ever-changing world of enforcing coverage exclusions.
3:15 - 3:30pm: Break
3:30pm - 4:20pm: Statutory Employer: You may not be liable, even if you were liable. The Statutory Employer defense is alive and well in Pennsylvania (Breakout Session)
Glenn A. Ricketti, Partner at Margolis Edelstein
Jonathan Herbst, Partner at Margolis Edelstein
This presentation will show the Claims Representative and Defense Counsel the “ins and outs” of the Statutory Employer defense. We will review each element of the Five Prong McDonald test. You will learn how an otherwise liable insured, can be completely absolved of any responsibility for a Plaintiff’s injuries and damages. The presentation will review the elements needed for a General Contract and a Subcontract We will review what makes a claimant an employee as opposed to an independent contractor. You will learn what it means to “occupy” or “control” a work site to trigger the immunity provisions of the Statutory Employer defense. We will touch on when a claim may be barred by the immunity provisions of the Workers Compensation Act.
4:30pm - 5:30pm: Networking Reception
Wednesday, April 19th
7:45 - 8:30am: Registration / Continental Breakfast
8:30 - 8:45am: Welcome / Opening Remarks
8:45 - 9:35am: The Ultimate Soft Skill - Negotiations Strategy
Joshua Bovender, Thomas, Thomas & Hafer
Heather Arnold, Penn National Insurance
Matthew Holden, Farmers Fire Insurance
A strategic negotiation approach involves more than choosing a cooperative or competitive posture. Heather Arnold, Matthew Holden, Joshua Bovender from Thomas Thomas & Hafer present a primer on settlement strategy, tactics, and advise for all levels of claims handling.
9:45 - 10:00am: Break
10:00 - 10:50am: Setting the Roof on Fire (Breakout Session)
Danielle Vols, Thomas Thomas & Hafer
Lisa Breneman, NEFCO
Danielle Vols from Thomas Thomas & Hafer and Lisa Breneman from NEFCO provide an introductory primer on evaluating, defending, and handling fire loss claims, including a discussion of basic cause/origin analysis and the science of fire to enable claims professionals to better understand and evaluate fire losses.
OR
10:00 - 10:50am: Life Care Plans: Cutting Them Down To Size (Breakout Session)
Candace N. Edgar, Partner at Margolis Edelstein
Valerie V. Parisi, RN, CRRN, CLCP
Certified Life Care Planner
ValPar Consultants, Inc.
Allison Greenfield, MBA, CPA, CFE
Senior Associate
Forensic Resolutions Inc.
This presentation will cover the increasingly common scenario of plaintiff’s counsel submitting life care plans setting forth exorbitant future medical costs to increase and even inflate the value of a claim or case. A practicing life care planner will provide invaluable insight into the anatomy of a life care plan and identify ways to undermine and reduce their projected costs, especially when unsupported by competent, expert medical opinions. A forensic and investigative accountant will also speak about the calculations that go into making a life care plan and identify potential errors that impact the accuracy of the final projected costs, such as mistakes in considering life expectancy and medical inflation. Finally, we will outline defense strategies for challenging the life care plan and qualifications of the life care planner, including identification of those portions of the life care plan that diverge significantly from actual treatment and costs that have occurred to date.
11:00 - 11:50am: Claims and Underwriting – A Team Effort
A discussion on how claims departments can effectively partner with underwriting departments to reduce risk of future loss. The discussion will focus on how underwriting can assist claims in knowing key concerns to be looking for, how claims staff (including key partners like independent adjusters) can collect information to benefit underwriting during claim handling, and how departments can work together to improve overall underwriting for the insurer.
12:00 - 1:00pm: Lunch / Departure
Register Sponsor Exhibit
