Insurance industry expert witnesses may opine on insurance regulation, insurance claims, and insurance coverage.
With so many acronyms in the insurance industry, the International Risk Management Institute, Inc., offers Risk and Insurance Acronyms on their website.
www.irmi.com.
In After the Storm…(but before the cleanup starts) arborist expert witness Russell E. Carlson, RCA, BCMA, writes:
Before you start up the chainsaw, before you make a single cut — make sure that any damage is documented. It only takes a few minutes to get what you need. Those minutes can be worth a lot in the long run.
Any tree damaged in a storm, or by vandalism, tresspass or accidents, may be insured or may be eligible for a casualty loss tax deduction. Don’t assume it isn’t covered in some way. Document the details right at the beginning, and you won’t have to worry about it later.
Logistics industry expert witnesses may write reports and testify on on issues including interstate motor carrier operations, truck fleets, and related topics. Just for fun, in her blog All That’s Trucking, Deborah Lockridge, writes:
Five words or less
On a LinkedIn transportation discussion group, there’s been a discussion thread where members answer the simple question: “In five words or less, describe what you do.” I wanted to share some of the responses with you, from the simple to the sublime to the just plain funny:
In Risk Management Consulting, risk management expert witness Alan F. Shirek,
AFS Risk Consulting International, LLC, writes:
Such tasks or projects may include developing ways to enhance the effectiveness of insurance brokers or agents, insurance carriers, third party claims administrators or other outside vendors. They may include developing communication tools that will enhance the ability of the risk management department to assist the operating companies or departments. They may include projects designed to provide an independent appraisal of key catastrophic exposures to loss. And they may involve analysis of certain significant legal exposures that could be difficult to absorb without a negative impact on corporate earnings.
Trucking industry expert witnesses may write reports and testify on on issues including federal motor carrier safety regulations, crashworthiness, truck maintenance, hours of service, and more. In The True Meaning of Sustainability, Deborah Lockridge, Editor in Chief All That’s Trucking blog writes:
“If you’re looking for a buzzword in the logistics industry of late, it doesn’t get much buzzier than “sustainability,” noted American Shipper magazine in an April article.
In a survey, the magazine found that some shippers are factoring how “green” a carrier or logistics company is when deciding whether to use them to transport goods.
The survey found that more than a third of buyers use vendors’ sustainability plans as a tiebreaker or deciding factor in buying decisions. And nearly 70% of carriers with a “proven plan” earned higher rates because of it.
In About Photography and the Law, entertainment and media expert witness Professor Jeff Sedlik writes:
A photography expert can analyze a photograph using forensic methods to determine the circumstances under which the photograph was made, and to reveal details of the photograph not visible to the naked eye. A photography expert may also use photographic equipment to conduct an analysis of a location, accident scene or crime scene, or to create simulations or reenactments. Photography experts can provide consultation and/or testimony or litigation support for attorneys, plaintiffs or defendants in photography litigation.
Arborist expert witnesses may write reports and opine on arboriculture, certified arborists, diagnosis and treatment of tree diseases, and more. Here, IML Wood Testing Systems describes Hazard Tree Evaluation:
While experienced observation will continue to be important, combining Visual Tree Assessment (VTA) and IML instruments aids early detection of decay, preventing personal injury and property damage due to fallen trees. The IML Resistograph measures the degree of decay and remaining wall thickness, giving the user a quantification of the structural integrity of trees.
The inspector can also attach the 45 degree adapter to measure and record the wood density below ground level. The resulting data is the kind of detailed documentation managers and consultants need to defend or justify their decisions whether or not to remove a tree!
Insurance agencies expert witness Alan F. Shirek, AFS Risk Consulting International, LLC, describes Insurance agents’ and brokers’ standard of care
Generally speaking, the insurance agent or broker owes a high degree of care to its client. The extent of broker’s duty, in any specific case, is the result of the facts, statutory requirements and common law. In assessing the degree to which a broker has satisfied his or her duty, the broker’s stated policies, procedures and practices have a most persuasive effect. By comparing the broker’s actual performance to the performance required by his or her firm, a compelling case can be made for the broker’s success or failure at providing the appropriate level of care.
Carbon monoxide expert witness Russell Keeler, PE, writes:
The push for greater and greater energy conservation has led to a variety of unintended consequences. One of these is that very high efficiency gas burning appliances such as furnaces and boilers can produce high, and perhaps toxic levels of carbon monoxide (CO). High efficiency appliances produce relatively low flue gas temperatures. These low temperatures can cause condensation of the flue gas. If the wrong type of flue is installed, the flue will corrode, and flue gas may leak into the room where the appliance is installed. Death from carbon monoxide poisoning has resulted in a number of cases over the last few years.
Burners need to be checked every year to determine the amount of carbon monoxide present. Anything over a trace amount of CO requires the retuning or replacement of the burner.
In The Paige Report: Does an insurance broker have a duty to give advice?, insurance practices expert witness Mr. David H. Paige, Esq. writes:
Implications for Agent/Broker Liability: The continuing issue addressed in this decision is whether insurance brokers have an obligation to give advice, and not simply to purchase the coverage requested. As will be addressed in later Reports, other states have implied that an insurance broker has a duty to speak up and advise an insured to take action when it is clear to the broker that the client is acting unwisely. Perhaps one of the biggest issues to be addressed is whether the differing state standards are surprising to insureds who find themselves without the advice that they thought was implied in their relationship with their broker.
* Williams v. Hilb, Rogal & Hobbs Insurance Services of California, Inc., 177 Cal. App. 4th 624, 98 Cal. Rptr. 3d 910 (2009). PLEASE NOTE: Full copies of court decisions may be available through counsel or through various internet links and paid services.
