Stephen A. Serfass

Steve also leads the firm’s multidisciplinary national insurance practice group, which serves insurers across all lines. He ensures that his team has the resources they need to serve the insurance community well.

Long-Term Care Insurance

As founder of the firm’s long-term care insurance (LTCi) team nearly 20 years ago, Steve early on recognized the sector’s importance. LTCi clients continue to rely on Steve for comprehensive business and legal counsel, including representing them in class actions and individual litigation, and advising on regulatory compliance. A representative sampling of other matters on which Steve is engaged by LTCi clients includes:

• Product development and policy drafting
• Claims training
• Antifraud program development and training
• Claims negotiation on all coverage issues, including benefit eligibility and provider licensing/eligibility

Steve also leads enterprise-wide compliance audits for LTCi clients and serves as counsel on claims audits and due diligence in reinsurance and other transactions. He has served as acting general counsel for multiple LTCi community members for multiyear periods.

LTCi Engagement

Steve is an active member of the LTCi community, including participating meaningfully in leading community organizations/events such as the Intercompany Long Term Care Insurance annual conference and leading the firm’s biennial LTCi Summit, which brings together community leaders and lawyers, as well as regulators and other experts, to exchange ideas about the most important issues facing the LTCi community.

Privacy and Information Security

In addition to his LTCi work, Steve resolves high-stakes privacy and information security issues related to personally identifiable health and financial information. He advises insurers, managing general agents, reinsurers and their business associates on information privacy and security compliance and associated breach-related issues and defends them against related claims.

Representative Experience

• Assisted clients by developing and implementing privacy and security compliance plans in connection with the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, HITECH, and other laws. These engagements included:
  • Conducting an initial evaluation of the ways the organization used, disclosed and otherwise interacted with personal information about policyholders, claimants and others
  • Drafting policies and procedures compliant with applicable law
  • Drafting privacy notices, authorization/consent forms, and vendor/business associate contracts/addenda
  • Developing and providing initial training for the organization’s workforce
  • Participating in the evaluation and improvement of the organization’s risk management/mitigation system with respect to information privacy and security issues
• Led a team in performing more than a dozen information privacy audits with respect to GLB, HIPAA, and other insurance-specific requirements for insurers

Environmental Insurance and Liability Transfer Transactions

Steve represents environmental contractors, developers and owners of contaminated property in negotiating fixed-price remediation contracts, environmental liability transfer agreements and the negotiation/manuscripting of related pollution legal liability and other insurance policies.

Personal Interests

Steve is committed to his family and his faith, which are the primary areas where he invests time outside of work.