Events

Bad Faith Litigation: Discovery of Claims Management Goals and Adjuster-Performance Incentives

Aug. 13, 2024 – 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM EST

The panel will consider these and other key issues:

– Is it necessary to seek punitive damages before discovery of financial information is allowed?
– What kind of temporal or geographic limits may be reasonable for these types of requests?
– What are typical requests and objections?
– In what format should the information be produced and who decides that?

A Deep Dive on Wrap-Up Insurance in Construction

June 18, 2024 – 11:00 AM PST

Will S. Bennett, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
Joshua Rogove, CR Solutions
Trevor Casey, CR Solutions
Amy Lamb, CR Solutions
Melody Bell, Procor Risk Advisors

Key Learning Outcomes:
– How to determine if your project is a good fit
– Strategies to gain support from owners and developers
– Key benefits and cost savings
– Essential coverages such as general liability and excess liability
– Criteria for managing subcontractor compliance
– Common exclusions, endorsements, and best practices for effective administration
And much more!

Insurance Considerations Related to the Use of Artificial Intelligence

Webinar
May 29, 2024 – 9:00 AM – 12:35 PM EST

Who Comes in Second? Vertical and Horizontal Policy Limit Exhaustion

May 21, 2024 – 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM CST

Tracy Alan Saxe and Kelly A. Johnson, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.

Learn more about the concepts of vertical and horizontal policy limit exhaustion. When multiple policies are involved, the priority of coverage is relevant to determine whether vertical or horizontal policy limit exhaustion applies, as varied by jurisdictions.

Covering the Cyber Risk: An Overview of Cyber Risk Under Traditional Policies and the Cyber Policy

May 14, 2024 – 11:00 AM – Noon EST

Join this webinar to learn about the exposure presented by the cyber risk; coverage of cyber risks under traditional policies; the types of cyber policies; and advise businesses on why they should be purchasing a cyber policy.

Legal Shields for Risky Deals: Navigating Insurance and Contractual Risk Transfer

Master risk management strategy with Michael V. Pepe and enrich your toolkit with deep insights on the relationship between insurance and contractual risk transfer to ensure your clients are properly protected.

Scope of Coverage, Covered Losses, Exclusions, AI Endorsements

Michael V. Pepe, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
Patrick J. Wielinski, Cokinos Young
Christopher Yetka, Larking Hoffman Daly & Lindgren

Construction projects are always at risk for economic losses from unanticipated property damage, additional soft costs, and revenue loss that result in unbudgeted costs that can threaten project completion. Builders risk coverage is a crucial risk mitigation measure for building contractors and developers, as is adequate liability coverage through CGL policies and wrap ups.

Counsel to builders and developers must consider who is covered, what property is covered, what limits and sublimits apply, and when/how coverage applies. Because builders risk policies are not standardized, coverage varies dramatically between insurers. Coverage disputes often arise over the types of costs recoverable, calculation of economic damages, and the coverage exclusions and exceptions.
For liability disputes, CGL coverage must be adequately placed to cover construction risks during the course of construction as well as after. Typical issues include who is covered, the scope of coverage, and exclusions and conditions that apply.

Counsel often must also navigate the interplay between builders risk policies, CGL policies, including wrap policies, and professional liability policies. These issues are influenced by the language of the policies and the parties’ contractual obligations to each other. Attention to the details is necessary to ensure coverage is triggered when necessary.

The Risk of Delegating Design

As integrated project delivery methods become more common, more and more contractors are taking on design risk. It’s increasingly important for contractors and their counsel to consider how to delegate this risk to their design team, and how to insure it. In this hour-long webinar, Mike will use real-world examples to discuss the risks of project design and strategic methods to manage design risk through contract and insurance.

Insurance 101: Fundamentals of Commercial Insurance Law

Feb. 27, 2024 – 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM EST

Brittany Bisson, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
John C. Pitblado, Carlton Fields

This seminar is intended for individuals with little to no insurance experience to familiarize themselves with fundamental areas of commercial insurance coverage, key concepts, and principles from the perspective of a coverage attorney representing policyholders and a coverage attorney representing carriers.

You Will Learn:

• The difference between different types of policies: Commercial General Liability, D&O, Professional, Employee Practices, Property, Builders’ Risk, Pollution, etc., First Party v. Third Party, Occurrence v. Claims Made Primary v. Excess
• How to analyze and understand an insurance policy declarations page
• How to differentiate between grants of coverage and exclusions within insurance policies
• To understand “Additional Insured” coverage and distinguish AI coverage from contractual indemnity
• The distinction between a liability insurer’s duty to defend and duty to indemnify
• The basic issues that arise during coverage analysis and what to expect during insurance coverage litigation

Horizontal vs. Vertical Exhaustion of Insurance: Priority of Coverage and Settlement for Below Policy Limits

10:00 AM – 11:30 AM PST

Anna M. Perry, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
Scott M. Seaman, Hinshaw & Culbertson

Insurance counsel face challenging issues in accessing excess coverage when multiple policies, issued to a single insured, provide coverage to a single claim.

Sometimes issues arise when a loss extends over several years and several sequential policies. In this case, questions may arise as to whether the primary coverage exhausts horizontally or vertically: in other words, whether the insured has to exhaust one primary policy or all primary policies before excess coverage becomes available.

Sometimes issues arise when the insured settles a claim with its primary carrier for less than the policy limits. Tapping the excess policies in these situations requires close attention to the policies’ language and the rapidly evolving law in this area.

Resolving these insurance coverage disputes hinges on understanding the policy language, the contracts between the parties, and the relationship between the primary and excess insurers who may be called on to respond to the loss.

Listen as our authoritative panel of insurance attorneys discusses vertical and horizontal insurance coverage principles, triggering excess policies, and resolving issues with the excess carrier when the primary carrier settles for less than the policy limits.

Managing Risks and Opportunities: The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Construction Industry

Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023 – 2:00 PM EST

Bethany L. Barrese, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
Joe Poliafico, Construction Risk Partners
Emily Short, Baldwin Risk Partners
Kevin Dulaney, Hotwire

Is AI a technical revolution that can help humanity, or will it be our downfall?

It may be too early to draw any definitive conclusion, but as AI starts to evolve and permeate our everyday lives, this webinar will help you understand how it may affect your business, specifically how AI is affecting risk management in Construction.

From insurance carriers to construction companies and everywhere in between, our panel will evaluate several facets of the impact of AI on insurance coverage, underwriting and claims, as well as the use of ChatGPT within an organization and the possible risk/benefits of AI.

This technology is evolving quickly, and it is important to raise issues and be aware of where AI may be going and how your organization can stay ahead of any future issues.

By attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

– Identify the overall impact of AI on our everyday and business lives.
– Describe how Ai is being used by insurance carriers to improve efficiency and risk prediction.
– Discuss how AI could affect insurance coverages moving forward and the effect it will have on underwriting all lines of coverage as well as look at potential legal issues around cyber coverage.
– Consequences of a wrongful failure to defend

Shielding Your Construction Projects: Mastering Builders' Risk Insurance

September 28, 2023 – 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM EDT

Stacy M. Manobianca, Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.
Joshua Atlas, Kaufman Lynn Construction
Michael Pignataro, Marsh

Topics for discussion in this webinar include:

– Introduction to Builders’ Risk Coverage
– Named Insured
– Interpretation of “All-Risk” Policy Language
– Special Peril
– Understanding the LEG Endorsements
– Faulty Workmanship Exclusion
– Various Other Exclusions (earth movement, concurrent causation, anti-concurrent causation, etc.)
– Proper Claims Handing of Builders Risk Losses
– Hard Costs vs. Soft Costs
– Business Interruption