Do you rely exclusively on your primary carrier to handle your toxic tort/product liability matters? Do you feel your primary carrier is doing such a good job that you don’t have to give your claims a second thought?
What could be better? The problem isn’t your problem, right?
Well, if you don’t take some initial planning steps now, that problem you barely give a second thought today … could quickly become your biggest problem tomorrow.
How? Once your primary layer exhausts, the insurer will hand the liabilities off to you and not look back.
Will you be prepared? Will you have a database that can efficiently track your claims for litigation management and company reporting going forward? Will you have a handle on your historic liability so you can prove to your other carriers that the primary is indeed exhausted — and the umbrella and excess can seamlessly move right into paying?
In our upcoming five-part series, we will share tips for how to stay on top of your claims and primary insurer now … to ensure a seamless transition into your other layers of coverage later. We will discuss:
– The primary carrier’s practices and goals — and how they may differ from yours as a policyholder.
– The first steps to take to get a handle on your claims and trends
– The importance of documentation and tracking what your primary insurer is paying
– The main tasks that will be handed off to you once your primary exhausts (managing the local counsel network, reviewing and paying defense invoices, paying settlements, etc.)
– How your primary insurer’s activities may impact your umbrella and excess carriers. Whether you should start discussions with those higher level carriers now, and what you need to be prepared for those discussions.
Does your primary carrier exclusively handle your toxic tort/product liability matters? If so, do you have plans in place for the day your primary layer exhausts? If not, what would help you plan for the eventual transition to your other layers of coverage?
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Having spent much of her career serving clients who are asbestos defendants, Michelle Potter is an authority on the current state of the asbestos litigation industry. At KCIC, her day-to-day role is to manage client relationships and lead projects to develop and implement claims processing procedures and systems, as well as to perform complex analyses of different types of claims and insurance.
Learn More About Michelle