Committee Chair’s Corner – Insurance and Reinsurance Committee of the IADC
Elizabeth (Lisa) J. Bondurant
Womble Bond Dickinson LLP
lisa.bondurant@wbd-us.com
Cyber liability! Opioid crisis! Driverless cars! Artificial technology! Biotechnology and punitive damages! Interested? These are all topics for the Insurance and Reinsurance Committee of IADC, which I am privileged to Chair. The Committee is a vibrant and enthusiastic Committee which is always evolving. The Committee’s reach is extensive as most every issue confronted by members of the IADC involves a component of insurance. We welcome all to come along on the Insurance and Reinsurance Committee’s journey. You’ll find that we are supporting the mission of IADC and having a lot of fun along the way.
This note touches on just a few key components of the Committee and highlights the Committee’s reach amongst IADC.
Mission
The Insurance and Reinsurance Committee serves members whose practices are affected by the myriad issues facing the insurance industry. The Committee consists of multiple substantive subcommittees to cover such matters as coverage issues, first party claims, bad faith, international matters, and new topics impacting the areas of life disability and health, casualty, reinsurance, excess loss, subrogation, self-insured and-retention insurance concerns, inland marine and builder’s risk, subrogation and recovery, surplus lines, advertising injury and intellectual property exposures, and more (if you can believe it).
This year, the Committee is focusing on the key insurance cases to watch in the coming months, including the opioid crisis, environmental disaster, and challenging insurance liability issues presented by changing technology, such as self-driving cars.
We also participate actively in the mission of IADC, with Standing Committees focused on new members, corporate counsel, insurance executives, diversity, and excellence.
Monthly Calls
We have robust monthly calls on the second Thursday of each month at 1:00 p.m. US Eastern time. Often, we include a “spotlight on a committee member” or a presentation by an in-house committee member. We address potential programs, new members, publications, and activities at the Annual and Midyear Meetings. The calls are a great way to get involved and hear what is going on. No preparation is necessary to participate!
Continuing Legal Education
We are proud of the Committee’s work for IADC educating members. The Insurance and Reinsurance Committee has been wildly busy the last few years and sponsored multiple programs at the Annual and Midyear Meetings, and by way of Webinars. In addition to CLE presented during the meetings, we have planned special presentations for in-house counsel in the area of the meeting. So, for example, we had a special program in Bermuda for the insurance and reinsurance market there and another special program in Scottsdale for insurance professionals in the area.
At the Midyear Meeting in La Quinta, the Committee sponsored or co-sponsored programs on Coverage Issues for the Non-Coverage Counsel, Punitive Damages and the Impact on Insurance, and Waking up the Jury with Creative Exhibits. And in in Lisbon, you will find equally compelling programs.
Newsletters and Publications
Our publications are first rate and focus on cutting-edge topics. We have published a newsletter on a timely insurance topic virtually every month for the last several years. They are a good way of getting IADC membership easy-to-digest information on current themes in insurance litigation. The Committee has also has several submissions in the Defense Counsel Journal.
Subcommittees
We have numerous subcommittees which dive deeply into issues and where excellent work is done. The subcommittees are chaired by members with particular substantive knowledge and bear responsibility for newsletters, Webinars, and contributions to CLE. The subcommittees include the standing committees. The subcommittees are: Corporate Counsel; Insurance Executives; Professional Liability; Membership; Journal; Newsletter; Webinar; Self-Insured and Retention; Life, Health and Disability; First Party; Casualty; Reinsurance and Excess; International; and Communications.
Finally
The Insurance and Reinsurance Committee is a good place for anyone in the defense practice to make a home. It is critical to understand, or at least be able to recognize, key insurance issues in the representation of any entity in civil litigation.
I would love to answer your questions or engage with you further on the business of the Insurance and Reinsurance Committee. You may reach me at lisa.bondurant@wbd-us.com or 404-962-7520. I’ll be in Lisbon. Let’s grab coffee.