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SEPTEMBER 2023 FURTHERING THE HIGHEST STANDARDS OF CLAIMS AND LITIGATION MANAGEMENT Are We Automating Bias? Hit Another Level at CLM’s Litigation Management Institute Mentorship Is a Two-Way Street Tomorrow’s Skills Are Increasingly Necessary, But Traditional Qualities Are as Important as Ever Building the Ideal Modern Claims Professional SEPTEMBER 2023 DIGITAL EDITION SPONSORED BY:CUSTARD.COM Experts in Complex Issues 888.CUSTARD Construction Defect Services Cases involving construction defect can present complex issues. Our nationwide team of adjusters, working in conjunction with our construction defect experts, ensures a high-quality investigation aimed to minimize your indemnity and expense exposure . For further information regarding our Construction Defect Services, please contact: Through Custard’s network of 250+ locations, adjusters are strategically located to provide comprehensive geographic coverage, ensuring a prompt investigation anywhere in the US or Canada. This coverage paired with the Division’s expertise in construction defect litigation guarantees our customers a seamless connection with an experienced loss professional. u u u u u Determine the insured’s scope of work Establish the dates of construction for each structure Identify and tender to all mutual carriers Provide an initial time on risk analysis Provide experienced construction defects adjusters Identify and tender to all subcontractors Tender to each additional insured carrier Maintain an additional insured matrix Attendance at all site inspections Participation in mediation as requested u u u u u BREON FORD VP, Director of Account Management & Business Development bford@custard.com 706.207.2939 ALAN NEAL, SCLA Senior Executive General Adjuster Director, Complex Casualty Claims aneal@custard.com 559.999.6026 CA License # 2C02604 SUBMIT A CLAIMSEPTEMBER 2023 FURTHERING THE HIGHEST STANDARDS OF CLAIMS AND LITIGATION MANAGEMENT Are We Automating Bias? Hit Another Level at CLM’s Litigation Management Institute Mentorship Is a Two-Way Street Tomorrow’s Skills Are Increasingly Necessary, But Traditional Qualities Are as Important as Ever Building the Ideal Modern Claims ProfessionalWith national reach and licensure in every state, Vertex is your one-stop shop for construction, engineering, and forensics experts. WITNESS OUR EXPERTS ENVIRONMENTAL CLAIMS FIRE INVESTIGATION CAUSE & ORIGIN PREMISES LIABILITY CONSTRUCTION DEFECT FORENSICS PROPERTY & CASUALTYTHECLM.ORG/MAGAZINE CLM MAGAZINE 3 CONTENTS CLM MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2023 20 BUILDING THE IDEAL MODERN CLAIMS PROFESSIONAL Tomorrow’s skills are increasingly necessary, but traditional qualities are as important as ever 24 ARE WE AUTOMATING BIAS? Taking steps to ensure AI systems do not discriminate when screening applicants, employees 28 WE COULD USE A LITTLE ‘NUDGE’ Changing our environment to drive more effective and efficient decisions 32 TRAVELING DOWN A BUMPY ROAD Carrier challenges and opportunities 36 HIT ANOTHER LEVEL AT CLM’S LITIGATION MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE Challenge yourself and earn your CLMP designation 37 BETWEEN THE LINES What is one thing you hope to learn more about this month at CLM’s Construction Conference in Austin? 38 WEBINARS Automating success 39 EVENTS Upcoming events, chapter activities, and recent webinars 40 NATIONAL News and verdicts that affect you from across the country 42 VOICES Getting to know Clyde & Co’s Yvonne Schulte FEATURES 4 FRONT DESK Claims in a riskier world 6 EXPOSURE Washed out 8 ASK THE EXPERT Assessing the Maui wildfires 10 MENTORSHIP IS A TWO-WAY STREET Women professionals building relationships that benefit mentors and mentees 12 REFLECTING THE TALENT YOU WANT TO RECRUIT Building and achieving a diverse team and a better business 14 INJURED AT HOME Workers’ compensation claims in a remote-work world 16 SPOTTING THE PITFALLS Understanding Medicare Treasury claims and learning how to avoid them COLUMNS AROUND THE CLM 20 24 32 10 36 42 12 SEPTEMBER 2023 DIGITAL EDITION SPONSORED BY:4 CLM MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2023 FRONT DESK A publication of DIRECTOR OF CONTENT Phil Gusman ASSISTANT EDITOR Fran Clark ART DIRECTOR/ PUBLISHING OPERATIONS MANAGER Jason T. Williams EDITORIAL QUESTIONS Phil Gusman phil.gusman@TheCLM.org CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Ronna Ruppelt VP PARTNERSHIPS Jeremy Campbell SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Laurel Metz ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Megan Josd ADVERTISING QUESTIONS Jeremy Campbell jeremy.campbell@TheCLM.org 513-377-7228 SEPTEMBER • ISSUE 7 • VOL. 7 REPRINTS For reprints and licensing please contact Jeremy Campbell at jeremy.campbell@TheCLM.org or 513-377-7228. CLM Magazine is published monthly and covers news and topics of interest to insurance claims, risk, and litigation management professionals. Copyright © 2023 by the CLM. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the CLM. The views expressed in the articles are solely those of the authors or those interviewed and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of CLM or the companies in which the authors are employed. CAT season is here, and this year is off to a devastating start. For much of August, our screens were filled with images and news from Maui, as wind- driven wildfires ravaged the island. As the fires burned, I was with our CLM community in Baltimore for Claims College, and even among insurance professionals who deal with losses and catastrophes every day, there was shock and disbelief at the damage and rising death toll—and overwhelming empathy for this amazing island’s residents. Meanwhile, as I write this column, Florida is recovering from the impact of Hurricane Idalia. This storm comes at a time when we’re potentially starting to see some stabilization of Florida’s insurance marketplace: Four carriers have applied to take over around 350,000 of Citizens’ policies, about 27% of the state’s insurer of last resort’s book. As our new reality of more frequent and severe natural disasters challenges the insurance industry, the one constant is the role of the claims professional. No matter how many disasters occur, and no matter how severe they are, our industry is there to help those impacted by these events recover from their loss. However, while the role is the same, how it is performed is changing as fast as the world around us. Technology advancements are providing essential tools to help us evaluate damage faster and more accurately, and also help us predict and prevent losses from occurring in the first place. Increasing demand for work/life balance and the rise of remote work are transforming our traditional views of the workplace. At the same time, the tried-and-true skills of the claims professional— compassion, a curious mind, good judgment, and the ability to communicate effectively—are just as important as ever. In this issue, Shawn Crawley, of Sompo International, examines these issues and explores what makes the ideal claims professional in today’s world. Accompanying his feature, you, our community, sounded off on what you believe a successful claims professional should be. It was interesting to see how closely your views tracked with the points outlined in Crawley’s feature. With all of us seeing the same trends and pulling on the same rope, I am confident that claims professionals will meet the increasing challenges of today and tomorrow with the same professionalism, compassion, and effectiveness that has carried our industry this far. All the best – Ronna Ruppelt CEO ronna.ruppelt@TheCLM.org LinkedIn.com/in/ronnaruppelt Claims in a Riskier WorldNa�onally recognized, gartner + bloom P.C. is an AV rated, premier li�ga�on defense law firm with offices in New York, New Jersey, Connec�cut, Massachuse�s and Florida, represen�ng clients in both federal and state courts in the special-ty areas of construc�on defect defense; New York Labor Law defense; environmental ma�ers; insurance coverage ma�ers; commercial li�ga�on; professional liability defense; corporate law; complex contract, and tort li�ga�on. With more than three decades of li�ga�on, coverage and trial experience, our a�orneys create long las�ng client rela�onships by taking the �me to understand the immediate needs, as well as helping to shape the longer term goals of our clients, in the sole spirit of protec�ng their best interests. Our clients include large public corpora�ons, mid-sized privately held firms, developers, contractors, and insurance carriers. We are dedicated to providing best in class legal advisory and li�ga�on services at an excep�onal value; always in service of the evolving needs of our clients. During the li�ga�on process, we employ a mul� dimensional approach to overcoming challenges, in an effort to empower our clients and deliver the most favorable case outcomes with high impact returns. New York · New Jersey · Connecticut · Massachusetts · Florida 801 Second Avenue, 11th Floor · New York, NY 10017 · Phone: (212) 759-5800 www.gartnerbloom.com6 CLM MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2023 EXPOSURE WASHED OUT The scene in Perry, Florida on Aug. 30 after Hurricane Idalia swept through. Idalia is the strongest hurricane to make landfall in Florida’s Big Bend since 1896. Reinsurance brokerage BMS says, due to the areas impacted, the insurance industry may have “dodged a bullet.” BMS’ Aug. 31 insured loss estimate is between $3 billion and $5 billion. PHOTO: SEAN RAYFORD/GETTY IMAGESNext >