Free Webinar: Could This Happen to You? A Compendium of Claim Tales and Lessons Learned: Season 2

Posted by & filed under Events.

Presented by:
Diane P. Mika, Senior Vice President, Risk Management Officer, Berkley Design Professional
Anthony Andersen, Senior Vice President, Professional Liability Claims Manager, Berkley Alliance Managers 
Lisa McKay, Assistant Vice President, Senior Claims Examiner, Berkley Alliance Managers 
Liz Molina, Assistant Vice President, Senior Claims Examiner, Berkley Alliance Managers 
Mark A. Froehlich, Esq. Assistant Vice President, Senior Claims Examiner, Berkley Alliance Managers 

Wednesday, December 4, 2024
10-11:15 AM Pacific
12-1:15 PM Central
1-2:15 PM Eastern

Earn Learning Units
Approved for 1.25 AIA Learning Units
Approved for 1.25 RCEP Professional Development Hours+
Health, Safety, and Welfare Qualified

Berkley DP policyholders who participate in this program can qualify for a 15% Risk Management Education credit. Contact your agent for further information*

In Season 2 of “Could This Happen to You,” Berkley DP claims examiners discuss four new claim tales. Each episode sets the stage with the project type, delivery method, and parties involved. You’ll get the juicy details of the problems that arose and discover the realities of the final resolution and meaningful lessons learned, providing you with valuable insights to help avoid or mitigate similar situations. 

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Controlling Outcomes and Preserving Relationships Through the Mediation Process

Posted by & filed under BDP Blog.

By Lisa MacKay, Assistant Vice President, Senior Claims Examiner, Berkley Alliance Managers, a Berkley Company
Liz Molina, Assistant Vice President, Senior Claims Examiner, Berkley Alliance Managers, a Berkley Company

June 21, 2024

Controlling Outcomes and Preserving Relationships Through the Mediation Process

As claims handlers, we always look for reasonable opportunities to resolve our claims. Mediation is the most common and beneficial pathway to claims resolution. Most professional liability policies offer incentives for insureds to attend mediation and resolve their disputes. Moreover, mediation provides a means to foster and preserve relationships with insured clients. There are occasions when we can socialize, share some ideas, interact and even find common ground with other insurance professionals as well as attorneys. This ability to connect with others and with the help of a neutral third party or mediator, gives us some control over the outcome of a case and avoids the unknown risk of a decision being rendered by a judge or jury.

With social inflation on the rise and sometimes resulting in extreme jury awards, resolution through mediation is the best way to take the uncertainty and risk of the outcome out of the hands of the judge or jury. The interactive process promotes a free flow of information and allows parties to identify and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the case in a confidential setting. The mediator assists the parties in exploring legal issues and in evaluating the recoverability of certain damage items that may not have been discussed. An effective mediator also helps to narrow the gap between alleged damages, which are sometimes overstated, and what would ultimately be recoverable to move the parties closer together and to assist them with becoming better informed to evaluate risk and exposure.

For many people, whether the case involves a personal or professional matter, having a dispute that rises to the level of a claim whether litigated or not, is a new and unfamiliar experience, and often “uncharted territory.” The claim and litigation process can be intimidating, uncomfortable, frustrating and disappointing. This experience is also true in mediation. For example in negotiations, unreasonable opening offers can lead to frustration and irritation and cause parties to become more entrenched and unwilling to concede their position. It is not a natural process to most and there is a lot of gamesmanship and strategy on all sides. We often have preliminary conversations with our insured clients and counsel to set the tone and keep an open mind as we prepare ourselves for unrealistic opening demands. The valuation of a case or position becomes more realistic after discussions or back-and-forth offers are made in mediation. The process itself may take more than one session, especially if the parties are entrenched, to allow them time to process the information and better evaluate risk and exposure.

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Fee Dispute Mitigation Reimbursements Coverage

Posted by & filed under BDP Blog.

A small silver lining in an otherwise difficult situation

By Liz Molina
Assistant Vice President, Senior Claims Examiner, Berkley Alliance Managers, a Berkley Company

May 10, 2021

As long as I have been managing claims for design firms, one of the primary risk management principles held by architects and engineers (A&E) professional liability insurance (PLI) carriers is that a design professional should avoid suing their clients for unpaid fees.

Why? Because a suit for outstanding fees is usually met with a counterclaim for professional negligence. And, while in general, those allegations trigger coverage under an A&E PLI policy, the attempt to recover the outstanding fees is not covered because fees are not considered damages as defined in A&E PLI policies. Unfortunately, the outstanding fees become part of the negotiations when attempts are made to resolve the negligence allegations. In most cases, the design firm has to significantly compromise its fee claim – and sometimes completely walk away from it – in order to get the negligence claim resolved, even when some of the negligence allegations lack merit or would be difficult to prove. This leaves the design firm frustrated because they end up not getting paid, while at the same time having to spend their policy deductible to defend and/or settle the negligence claim. In essence, they actually lose more money, which does not even include the lost billable time that was spent helping to defend the claim instead of working on projects that generated income.

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