Winning the Compromise: Managing U.S. Claim Disputes

On March 2, 2016, attorneys from our London, New York, and Philadelphia offices presented a mini-symposium at the Old Library in Lloyd’s of London, entitled Winning the Compromise: Managing U.S. Claim Disputes.  The symposium was geared toward claims managers and compliance professionals responsible for managing U.S. claims.    

For London-based claims professionals, U.S. claim disputes are often challenging due to the propensity for litigation as well as the unpredictability of certain jurisdictions and variations in the applicable legal standards. Even with the ever-present threat of costly litigation, however, Drinker Biddle’s presenters stressed that insurers have far more control over the outcome than they realize.  Drinker Biddle offered their knowledge on how U.K. insurers can “win the compromise” by positioning claim disputes for a favorable resolution.

Charlie Cowan (London) and Bob Mancuso (New York) presented “10 Steps to Avoiding Litigation,” which focused on strategies for resolving disputes before a complaint is ever filed.  In a session entitled “The Vagaries of Forum: It’s Not What You Do But Where You Do It,” Jason Gosselin (Philadelphia) sought to shed light on why litigation outcomes vary so significantly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.  Finally, in “Handle With Care: Adjusting Claims Amid Regulatory Investigations,” John Mulhern (New York) and Andrea Best (London) presented on the difficulties of representing insurers in litigation while simultaneously defending the insurers from regulatory scrutiny.