The Changing Nature of Insurance Claims Litigation

Mergers and acquisitions, sophisticated litigation management technology and hedge fund-backed capital has made the plaintiffs’ bar a formidable opponent in recent years.

In the last podcast in the Insights on InsurTech series, The Future of Insurance Claims Litigation, Wesley Todd, a former insurance defense attorney and creator of CaseGlide, a collaboration, workflow and analytics platform for insurance litigation departments, explains why carriers need to focus on implementing insurtech in claims litigation management.

“There are claims litigation platform providers, like us at CaseGlide and others…that have actually handled claims, been in court rooms,” said Todd.

For carriers considering implementing new technology, the claims litigation department is a good area to start in because the return on investment is readily apparent.

“Because with the high expense of a vendor, like an attorney, and with the ability to fast track deploy these things…you can get ROI real quick,” he said.

Plaintiff law firms have changed considerably since Todd first discussed claims litigation management with Claims Journal in 2015.

“They have become more sophisticated than our claims litigation departments. Not in the entire insurance industry, but these firms are merging and acquiring all of the other plaintiffs’ firms…across the country,” explained Todd. “We’re not talking about mom and pop shops here anymore.”

He said their claims litigation management software is now more adept than those within carrier litigation departments.

“If you took a look at their dashboard, the dashboard that your fiercest opponents log into every day, I think you might take claims litigation a little more seriously in your own company,” said Todd.

And while carrier claims litigation departments are fighting for pennies to add a couple of people every year, the plaintiff’s bar is partnering with hedge funds, he said.

“The plaintiff’s bar is more sophisticated, has better technology, and now has a lot more money invested in the…litigation battle for insurance proceeds,” said Todd, whose team manages nearly a hundred thousand cases.

Todd said insurers’ focus on just one metric, expense, has resulted in massive employee and vendor turnover.

“I think that it is time that we in the industry makes sure that everybody’s focused on total litigation management,” he said.

Read/listen to the rest of the series:

How to Cancel Out the Insurtech Noise

Retaking Control When Dealing With Insurtech Choices

Insurers Need to Identify Issues Before Investing in Insurtech