This Women in Subro blog series highlights powerhouse women in the industry while discussing leadership, management, and success in subrogation. In our interview with Kim Stafford, Director of Subrogation and Arbitration at USAA, we recognized that her work philosophy is about service to those she works for, works with, and leads. Kim started out as...
Technology is advancing and so are subrogation investigations. We are seeing investigations of losses and presentations for recovery make use of new technology, including laser scanning, 3D imaging, Lidar, drones, etc. Some tech can come at a high expense, but as the tech becomes more available, it will become standard use in the industry. For...
There are what seems like countless hindrances to subrogation recovery. With a spin on Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s famous love poem for the title of this article, we delve broadly into the legal bars for recovery. The non-exhaustive list below outlines some of the main legal doctrines barring recovery in insurance claims. Hopefully, these simple definitions...
The world is watching live updates of the destruction, as flames take over the Norte Dame Cathedral fire in Paris, France. Not every building fire or water loss captures media attention, not even the local news broadcast. However, conducting a search for newspaper articles, news broadcasts, fire department facebook updates, police department twitter feeds, etc. can...
As part of Fire Prevention Week (October 7-13), it is timely to reflect on NFPA’s video on the Great Chicago Fire of 1879. The link to the video can be found here. While many lessons have been learned in fire prevention, fire spread, insurance coverage, and subrogation recovery since 1879, there are still many challenges...
After handling any sizeable amount of subrogation claims involving water damage, you may have asked yourself, “why is the insured always on vacation when a loss occurs?” In fact, most of the loss descriptions on the Notice of Loss will start with the sentence, “The insured was on vacation when…” It seems by a superficial...
Toddlers are indeed the best of the best when it comes to negotiating. Every parent is put to the test when it comes to enforcing the rules and avoiding temper tantrums. Even the savviest of attorneys have caved when dealing with their kids. There are some lessons we can learn from these little, but fierce...
Annually, the first full week of May is known in California as “Wildfire Awareness Week”. This provides CAL FIRE the opportunity to highlight the importance of wildfire prevention and preparedness. This year, with fires on the rise in California, CAL FIRE has launched a phone app to prepare individuals for the next wildfire. The app...
There are many impediments to a successful investigation of a product liability claim – age of the product, preservation of evidence, chain of custody of the evidence, installation markings, etc. This article will discuss situations where there is a lack of identifying information on the product. Products Lacking Manufacturer Identification Picture the scenario where the insured...
Both real and artificial trees can and do burn causing fire damage; unfortunately, ‘tis the season. As expected, Christmas tree claims arise through the seasonal months of November, December, and January. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) estimates of reported home structure fires, derived from the U.S. Fire Administration’s National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS)...
