Firm News: risk management

Kenneth Bloom to Speak at the 2016 CLM National Construction Claims Conference in San Diego CA

Permalink
Gartner + Bloom is proud to announce that managing partner Kenneth Bloom will be speaking at the 2016 CLM National Construction Claims Conference.  The conference will be held in the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego, California, September 28-30.
This September, the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM) will hold the most comprehensive construction claims conference ever. In addition to addressing construction defect claims, conference sessions will also address facets of construction-related claims including construction site accidents/injuries, coverage issues, subcontractor issues, and new technologies. Sessions also will address issues on the national, regional, and state levels.

About Ken: Ken Bloom is a founding partner of Gartner + Bloom, PC., an AV rated law firm in existence for twenty-two years and with offices in New York City and Springfield New Jersey. Ken is a skilled trial attorney, who concentrates his practice in the areas of Casualty/Liability Defense; Insurance Coverage; New York Labor Law (Scaffold Law); Construction Litigation including construction defect, EIFS, apparent microbial growth (AMG), asbestos and lead paint matters, as well as Insurance Fraud Defense and Commercial Litigation. Ken was admitted to the bar in the District of Columbia in 1981; New York 1982; Pennsylvania 1990; the U.S. District Court, Eastern and Southern District of New York in 1983; U.S. District Court, Northern District of New York in 1990; U.S. Supreme Court in 1985; U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan in 1988; and the U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit 1990.  He is a graduate of Cornell University (B.S., 1978), where he serves as a guest lecturer for the course, “Managing and Resolving Conflict.” He obtained his J.D. from American University in 1981.  

Prior to founding Gartner + Bloom, Ken was an Assistant District Attorney, Kings County, New York, 1981-1982; Senior Staff Attorney, New York City Mayor's Strike Force, 1982-1983; Partner, O'Donnell, Fox & Gartner, P.C., New York City, 1983-1990; Resident Senior Partner Cozen and O'Connor, New York City, 1991-1994.Ken is a member of the New York State Former District Attorneys Association, Brooklyn, New York; Pennsylvania and American Bar Associations- member of the Tort and Insurance Practice Section and Alternate Dispute Resolution Section; Co- chair of the Construction Committee of the ABA Section on Dispute Resolution (2004-2005); District of Columbia Bar and the New York County Lawyers Association. He is a frequent lecturer on construction and coverage related topics, as well as ADR.

adjusters, claims professionals, construction law, Gartner + Bloom, insurance, Ken Bloom, litigation, premises liability, real estate, risk management

Pre-Loss Risk Management Meetings with Insureds, by Arthur Xanthos

Permalink
Liability insurance carriers have several methods of managing the risk posed by their insureds' operations. One little used but very effective technique is the pre-loss risk management meeting between the insured and the carrier, or between the insured and an attorney hired by the carrier.

 In the case of a general contractor ("GC")insured, the procedure runs generally as follows: a GC that intends to develop land purchases a general liability insurance policy from an insurance carrier. As part of the insurance binder, the GC is obligated to meet with an attorney to review the subcontract agreements used by the GC, and to review the safety of its operations. (The carrier if it wishes can charge the GC a sum in addition to the premium to cover the cost of the meeting.) The meeting is then held between the attorney and the GC, during which subcontracts and insurance certificates are reviewed, and safety measures on the construction site are looked at (particularly those that might trigger New York State Labor Law liability). The attorney then makes suggestions to improve the GC's paperwork and its safety measures.

Rather than rewriting the insured's subcontracts entirely (an expensive, and likely vain pursuit), the attorney will want to leverage the time spent by focusing on three areas during the meeting with the insured: (1) the quality of the indemnity language in the insured's subcontracts; (2) the accuracy and proper wording of any insurance certificates from the subcontractors; and (3) the responsibility for safety on the construction site. It is these three areas that will pay the most dividends in the event of a loss.

In our experience conducting risk management meetings, not more than half of the contractor insureds we meet have both a valid indemnification provision in their favor, and a properly drafted insurance certificate from their subcontractors. Following a well run risk management meeting, however, the insured's subcontracts will have a valid and unambiguous indemnification clause running in favor of the insured, the insured's subcontractors will have made the insured an additional insured on the subcontractor's liability insurance policy, the insured will have received a tutorial on the strict safety rules applicable to owners and contractors on a construction site, and the carrier's adjustment of a future claim will be a matter of passing the defense and indemnity of the insured to the subcontractor and its insurance carrier.

So a proper risk management meeting will benefit both carrier and insured. For these reasons, all general liability insurance carriers should consider utilizing risk management meetings. Four points, however, should be kept in mind: (1) the insured is not always receptive to such meetings, even if the insurance binder requires it. Consequently, you will find that the meeting often takes place long after the insured starts work on the site; (2) you are counting on the insured taking the advice of the attorney. There is little recourse, however, if the insured does not do so (other than perhaps a non-renewal of the policy); (3) it is not a requirement that an attorney conduct these meetings -- an experienced adjuster can be just as effective; and (4) the average time to prepare for and conduct the meeting is six hours. The amount charged to the insured, if any, should reflect that anticipated cost.

                                                                                                          -APX 2/14/14
Arthur Xanthos, carriers, construction law, general contractors, insurance, labor law, premises liability, risk management, risk management meetings