SEMINAR - Tressler LLP

SOPHISTICATED
ISSUES AND TRENDS
IN COMPLEX
PROPERTY CLAIMS
SEMINAR
May 21, 2014
9:00 am – 3:45 pm
WEBINAR AVAILABLE
Willis Tower
233 South Wacker Drive
Chicago, IL 60606
Sponsored By: Tressler LLP, Matson Driscoll & Damico, Pyr-Tech, Inc., Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc., YOUNG & Associates
SOPHISTICATED
ISSUES AND TRENDS
IN COMPLEX
PROPERTY CLAIMS
SEMINAR
May 21, 2014 | 9:00 am – 3:45 pm
AGENDA
8:30 am – 9:00 am Registration and Continental Breakfast
9:00 am – 9:10 am
Welcome and Introduction
Todd Schenk, Partner, Tressler LLP (Chicago)
9:10 am – 9:55 am
Don’t Get Burned in a Fire Loss Investigation . . . Find Out
What You Need to Know When the Question Is “Why?”
Sometimes origin and cause investigators cannot determine
a cause for a fire within a defined area of origin because the
ignition source cannot be easily identified due to destruction
or removal after ignition, or heat sources normally present can
make a fire appear accidental. When this occurs, investigators,
SIU personnel and/or adjusters must evaluate other evidence
or factors that may not be immediately visible or available.
Learn about the type of evidence that needs to be gathered
and the parties’ rights and obligations during the cause and
origin investigation process.
Presenters
Michael Presson, IAAI-CFI, Pyr-Tech, Inc.
John Carver, Partner, Tressler LLP (Chicago)
9:55 am – 10:10 am
If It Looks Too Good To Be True, It Probably Is:
Identifying Fraudulent Claims
Fraudulent claims account for a significant portion of all claims
received by insurers, and cost billions of dollars annually. Both
claims adjusters and computers can be trained to identify
“red flags,” or past symptoms associated with fraudulent
claims. Learn about informational resources used to develop
a conspiracy and fraud case and when to get legal counsel
involved in the process.
Presenter
Richard Heytow, Senior Counsel, Tressler LLP (Chicago)
10:10 am – 10:25 am
BREAK
10:25 am – 11:15 am
How Bad Can It Be?: Evaluating Structural and
Architectural Damage to Places of Business
Learn about the strategic consideration of applicable
code provisions, including IBC Chapter 34, new IEBC, and
local codes/ordinances in evaluating both structural and
architectural damage to buildings. Hear about steps adjusters
can take to assist experts in the evaluation process, how to
avoid unnecessary “triggering” of “substantial structural
damage,” how to differentiate new damage from pre-existing
conditions and what logical decisions need to be made to
prevent business interruption.
Presenters
Arne Johnson, Principal, Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc.
Kevin Kalata, Associate Principal, Wiss, Janney, Elstner
Associates, Inc.
JOIN US
Leading industry professionals from Wiss,
Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc., Matson
Driscoll & Damico, Pyr-Tech, Inc., YOUNG
& Associates and Tressler LLP will provide
valuable insight into adjusting complex
property claims from start to finish. The
Seminar will address emerging trends in
coverage disputes, coverage litigation and
bad faith claims and provide updates on
recent property insurance case law.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
Senior Claims Professionals
LOCATION/PARKING
The Sophisticated Issues and Trends in
Complex Property Claims Seminar will be
held at Willis Tower (f/k/a Sears Tower),
located between Adams, Jackson, Wacker
and Franklin Streets, in the heart of the
Chicago Loop. Willis Tower is within
walking distance to Union Station, Ogilvie
Transportation Center, LaSalle Street Station,
the “L”, and many public parking garages. For
more information on Willis Tower, visit
http://www.willistower.com/location/.
11:15 am – 12:00 pm
It Is What It Is: Defending Repair Estimates
Learn what to look for when assessing estimates for repairs
to a damaged structure in order for the business to resume
operations, including all time and material, emergency service
work, observed and suspected loss, structural damage (and
whether it was pre-existing), damage to production line
equipment and machinery, and considerations when receiving
multiple contractor estimates.
Presenters
Michael Vujica, Regional Managing Partner, YOUNG & Associates
Stephen Couto, VP of Construction Services, YOUNG & Associates
12:00 pm – 12:30 pm
The Nuances of Appraisal, ACV, Trigger and Suit Limitations
Learn about the subtleties and risks of appraisal and calculation
of Actual Cash Value. Hear about what does and does not trigger
your policy, and when suit can be filed against you.
Presenters
Todd Schenk, Partner, Tressler LLP (Chicago)
Amber Coisman, Partner, Tressler LLP (Chicago)
12:30 pm – 1:30 pm
LUNCH
1:30 pm – 2:20 pm
Business Interruption Issues With a Declining Product
Business operations have been negatively impacted by an
occurrence. The presenters will broadly discuss what is going on
in the market, and how adjusters should address issues, such
as production loss versus actual loss sustained, and whether to
take management forecasts at face value when doing a company
specific examination.
Presenters
Reinhard Krestel, Senior Manager, Matson Driscoll & Damico
William Bradshaw, Partner, Matson Driscoll & Damico
2:20 pm – 2:40 pm
From the Courts: Recent Important Decisions in
Property Insurance
Hear about the legal and practical impact of significant
first-party property coverage decisions over the past year.
Presenters
Ann O’Connor, Associate, Tressler LLP (Chicago)
Katherine Hercher, Associate, Tressler LLP (Chicago)
2:40 pm – 2:55 pm
BREAK
2:55 pm – 3:40 pm
Don’t Get Trapped!
We will discuss some common and not-so-common bad faith
traps and provide practical advice on how to avoid them.
Presenters
Paul White, Partner, Tressler LLP (Los Angeles)
Todd Rowe, Associate, Tressler LLP (Chicago)
3:45 pm
Networking Reception (Salseria, Willis Tower, Second Floor)
SOPHISTICATED
ISSUES AND TRENDS
IN COMPLEX
PROPERTY CLAIMS
SEMINAR
May 21, 2014 | 9:00 am – 3:45 pm
WEBINAR INFORMATION
The Sophisticated Issues and Trends
in Complex Property Claims Seminar
will be broadcast as a live five-hour
webinar for those interested in attending
remotely. Please note that the webinar
will be muted during the time allotted to
accommodate for breaks and lunch for the
people attending the Seminar in person.
The link to the webinar will be forwarded
to scheduled webinar attendees closer to
the Seminar date.
CONTINUING EDUCATION
The Illinois Department of Insurance has
approved and certified the Sophisticated
Issues and Trends in Complex Property
Claims Seminar for 6.00 hours of Illinois
Insurance CE credit. 5.00 hours of California
and/or Illinois CLE credit is available for
participating in this Seminar.
REGISTRATION
Register to attend the Sophisticated Issues
and Trends in Complex Property Claims
Seminar, either in person or by webinar,
by contacting:
LIZ ASHLINE
Email: lashline@tresslerllp.com
Phone: 312-627-4134
SPEAKER
BIOGRAPHIES
TRESSLER LLP
John Carver, Partner (Chicago)
John is an experienced trial lawyer who
represents insurers in first-party property
coverage and litigation matters. John has
served as lead defense counsel in more than
75 litigated first-party and third-party property
cases. He has been to trial 15 times and has
conducted more than 100 examinations
under oath. He handles both commercial and
personal lines involving employee dishonesty,
theft, valuable articles, inventory loss, fraud,
arson, robbery, accidental fire loss, mold and
water damage. John also has considerable
experience directing the work of consultants
typically retained in first-party property
matters. Additionally, John has experience with
large loss subrogation.
Amber Coisman, Partner (Chicago)
Amber focuses her practice on insurance
coverage counseling and litigation. She
advises insurers on coverage issues
with regard to liability and property
policies. Amber has significant experience
representing insurers in claims involving
residential and commercial property
disputes. Amber litigates first-party and
third-party insurance suits involving claims
of breach of contract and bad faith in
state and federal courts throughout the
United States. Amber has successfully
represented her clients at mediation,
arbitration and trial.
Todd Schenk, Partner (Chicago)
Todd is highly experienced in providing
insurance coverage counseling and
litigation representation to insurance
companies. He is particularly skilled in
handling first-party claims under residential
and commercial property policies and thirdparty claims involving advertising injury and
product liability. Many of his cases require
the defense of common law and statutory
bad faith claims, which Todd litigates in
venues around the country. He has also
handled appeals in both state and federal
courts around the country.
Paul White, Partner (Los Angeles)
Paul focuses his practice on complex
insurance coverage and bad faith litigation.
Paul’s insurance coverage practice includes
advising and representing insurers in bad
faith litigation and in insurance policy
disputes including first-party property
policies, general liability coverage, errors
& omissions insurance and media liability
insurance. He also advises and represents
insurers in subrogation actions on property
losses. Paul regularly speaks and publishes
for groups such as DRI, PLRB/LIRB, PLUS, and
the National Business Institute on insurance
coverage issues including, bad faith,
environmental and construction defects.
Richard Heytow, Senior Counsel (Chicago)
Dick focuses his practice on first-party
property coverage issues, concentrated on
the investigation and litigation of matters
involving fraud and arson. Dick is well versed
in and has access to the informational
resources that are required to develop
a conspiracy and fraud case. Prior to
joining the firm, Dick served as a Tactical
Police Officer where he gained insight
into investigative work. He has litigated
hundreds of fraud cases for major insurance
companies involving arson, employee
dishonesty and fictitious burglary and
theft claims and has, in every case where
it was alleged, succeeded in preventing his
clients from being penalized for bad faith or
unreasonable and vexatious conduct. Dick
has taken over 45 jury trials and 150 bench
trials to verdict.
Katherine Hercher, Associate (Chicago)
Katie represents insurers in analyzing
coverage issues and disputes pertaining
to all types of insurance policies. Katie
is skilled in performing legal research
regarding policy interpretation; drafting
complaints for declaratory relief and
dispositive motions; and preparing and
responding to discovery. She has extensive
experience taking examinations under oath
and depositions, and regularly provides
evaluations of coverage and litigation issues
to insurance company clients. She also has
significant courtroom experience and has
successfully litigated coverage disputes
from inception through appeal on behalf of
insurance carriers.
Ann O’Connor, Associate (Chicago)
Ann focuses her practice on insurance
coverage matters, including coverage
analysis, counseling and litigation. She has
represented insurers in coverage disputes
stemming from property claims, personal
and advertising injury claims and consumer
protection claims. Ann has engaged in
insurance coverage litigation in state and
federal trial and appellate courts, much of it
involving claims of bad faith. She is skilled in
drafting motions and pleadings, managing
discovery, drafting memoranda and
providing research analysis in support
of motions.
Todd Rowe, Associate (Chicago)
Todd practices in the field of insurance
coverage and has represented insurers
in litigation and non-litigation disputes.
Todd regularly advises insurers on complex
matters, including the resolution of large
claims and claims under specialty and
commercial insurance lines throughout
the country. Specifically, he has been
involved in litigating and negotiating
coverage claims related to oil and gas
industry exposures, complex multi-party
large-scale environmental cleanups, and
smaller claims for bodily injury, property
damage and advertising and personal
injury coverage. Todd has litigation and
counseling experience involving a wide
range of complex commercial disputes and
business litigation and has also defended a
number of automotive-related companies
in litigation throughout the country.
SOPHISTICATED
ISSUES AND TRENDS
IN COMPLEX
PROPERTY CLAIMS
SEMINAR
May 21, 2014 | 9:00 am – 3:45 pm
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES Continued...
PYR-TECH, INC.
MATSON DRISCOLL & DAMICO
Michael Presson, IAAI-CFI
Mike began his origin and cause career
at Pyr-Tech, Inc. in 1995 as an intern
investigator, where he assisted and was
trained by senior investigators until
challenging the IAAI-CFI exam in 2002.
Mike has testified as an origin and cause
expert in civil and criminal trials in both
state and federal courts. He is currently
licensed as a private investigator in several
states. Mike is currently a Director and
a Training & Education Co-Chair with
the Illinois Chapter of the International
Association of Arson Investigators. Mike
also serves as Director with the Missouri
Chapter of the National Society of
Professional Insurance Investigators.
Reinhard Krestel, Senior Manager
Reinhard is a licensed Certified Public
Accountant and holds several certifications
and accreditations including Certified in
Financial Forensics, Certified Valuation
Analyst, and Master Analyst in Financial
Forensics. Reinhard has focused his work on
economic damage quantification, business
interruption measurement, and other
forensic accounting engagements. Reinhard
has significant catastrophe experience
ranging from the Gulf Coast hurricanes to
the worldwide earthquakes and flooding in
Japan and Thailand. In addition, Reinhard has
also been engaged by attorneys to provide
litigation support services relating to firstparty property claims, casualty and general
liability, and general litigation matters,
including lost profit analyses, breach of
contract, product liability matters, personal
injury calculations, and shareholder disputes.
William Bradshaw, Partner
Bill has over 35 years of forensic accounting
experience, all with Matson Driscoll &
Damico or its predecessor. His practice is
concentrated in damage measurements
and accounting investigations on behalf
of attorneys and insurance carriers. Bill’s
expertise includes large and complex
assignments on a global basis involving lost
profits and business interruption, breach
of contract, physical damage to assets,
construction defect and delay, shareholder
disputes, personal injury, and product
contamination and recall. Bill has also
been qualified as and has testified as an
expert witness in both federal and state
courts in the U.S. regarding lost profits and
business interruption, fraud, subrogation
and various types of business disputes. His
experience in alternative dispute resolution
includes participation in insurance
appraisals, arbitrations and mediations.
Bill has presented a variety of seminars to
attorneys, the insurance industry and fraud
investigators on pertinent issues related
to measurement of damages and other
forensic accounting topics.
YOUNG & ASSOCIATES
Michael Vujica, Regional Managing Partner
Mike has been with YOUNG & Associates
since 2005 and has extensive experience
providing management, oversight and
consulting on a wide variety of insurance
losses on commercial projects. He performs
damage evaluations, estimates value of
loss, replacement cost values and provides
scheduling information. Mike also provides
project management services related to
remediation and restoration activities. Mike
gained extensive commercial and residential
experience from his work during the 2005
and 2008 Gulf of Mexico hurricane seasons
including Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Ike,
as well as through regional losses involving
wind storm, hail, flood, fire, explosion and
builders’ risk occurrences.
Stephen Couto, Vice President of
Construction Services
Steve joined YOUNG & Associates in
March 2014. Prior to that, Steve was
Vice President of Operations for Global
Technical Services, the largest independent
provider of claims management solutions
for large, complex claims, and served in
executive positions with several major U.S.
and international insurers, focusing largely
on claim operations and major losses. He
began his career as a multi-line adjuster
with Liberty Mutual and quickly moved to
senior claim positions with other insurance
companies, where he adjusted and
supervised management of property losses.
WISS, JANNEY, ELSTNER
ASSOCIATES, INC.
Arne Johnson, Principal
Arne joined WJE in 1989 after working for a
structural design firm in Chicago. At WJE, he
has investigated several hundred concrete,
steel, masonry and wood structures. Most
assignments have involved evaluation
of structural capacity, deterioration,
distress, or failure; many have included
design of repairs, construction documents,
and construction observation. Arne has
particular expertise in evaluation and repair
design for historic structures, including
repair and protection systems for aging
concrete. He has extensive experience
evaluating and repairing wood structures.
He also has expertise in vibration testing
and monitoring to protect structures from
construction-related vibrations. Arne has
performed numerous insurance-related
investigations involving structural failures,
fire damage, wind damage, vibration
damage, and foundation settlement. He has
also conducted many structural design peer
reviews and load-rating studies.
Kevin Kalata, Associate Principal
Since joining WJE in 1996, Kevin has
conducted numerous structural analyses of
distressed buildings, building components,
and framing to evaluate damage from
hurricanes, tornadoes, and fire, as well
as to investigate construction, material,
and design flaws. He has also investigated
buildings and other structures with
distressed or deteriorated veneers,
participated in and has managed numerous
field investigations related to water leakage
in masonry walls, EIFS, windows, and
curtain walls. Kevin’s experience includes
the design and preparation of drawings
and specifications for many repair projects
including full and partial facade recladding,
masonry rebuilding, window replacement,
sealant replacement, steel bracing systems,
and wood truss and framing repairs. His
consulting services include peer review of
new construction documents, condition
surveys of existing structures, quality control
testing, pre-purchase inspections, reserve
studies, and field observation services.
SOPHISTICATED
ISSUES AND TRENDS
IN COMPLEX
PROPERTY CLAIMS
SEMINAR
May 21, 2014 | 9:00 am – 3:45 pm
Willis Tower, 233 South Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60606
Sponsored By: Tressler LLP, Matson Driscoll & Damico, Pyr-Tech, Inc., Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc., YOUNG & Associates