Presented by
- Enjonli Hutchison – Risk Management Manager & Host of Amerisure’s Risk Management Webinars
- George Pavarini – VP Complex & Specialty Commercial Claims
- Kathleen Babilon – Risk Management Specialist
The webinar covers:
- What are nuclear verdicts?
- How are nuclear verdicts affecting the insurance and legal climate?
- What is reptile theory?
- How to prevent or reduce the chances of a nuclear verdicts against your company?
- What are the safety practices necessary to lower your odds of a nuclear verdicts against?
- What are some of the decisions you make in your business that increase the risk for a nuclear verdict?
- Plaintiff attorney traps they set for you
- Why the explosion of settlement costs and how much has it increased
- Litigation strategies to prevent nuclear verdicts
- How to build your fleet safety program that stands up to litigation practice
- Formal written program
- Driver selection / MVR program
- Leveraging fleet technology – cameras, GPS, etc.
- Nuclear verdict claim potential checklist
- Background checks and MVR procedures, regularly run
- Written safety policy
- Has the company had similar claims in the past? If so, what have they done to respond, prevent them from happening again?
- Maintain records of hiring practices, employee/driver training or other records that demonstrate the company’s diligence in hiring/training employees
- Has the case garnered social media attention that may impact the company’s credibility or the plaintiff’s popularity?
- Would the company’s leadership feel confident in describing their safety culture and accountability to opposing attorneys, judges or jurors in a deposition or court setting?
- Fleet safety program checklist
- Management and driver roles and responsibilities
- Safe driver selection policy (what qualifies or disqualifies an MVR)
- Vehicle use agreements
- Personal use of fleet vehicles policy
- Use of personal vehicles for company business policy
- Drug/alcohol policy for company drivers
- Distracted driver policy
- Driver training
- Vehicle inspections and maintenance
- Accident reporting and investigation
- Management and driver accountability policy
- Telematics and Dash Cam Policy (if applicable)
- Signed employee and management acknowledgement of policies
- Driver behavior study
- Driver behaviors contributed to 49% of claims, which accounted for 68% of incurred losses
- Average claim size when driver behaviors are the cause is over 200% higher than claims where the insured driver did not contribute to the cause
- Distracted driving, aggressive driving (including following too closely, speeding & passing) were the primary contributors
- Getting the most from telematics and dash cams
- Amerisure dash cam study
- 26 fleets, 1,800 vehicles, 32 million miles driven
- In 2 years, average of 68% reduction in claims after implementation
- Amerisure loss ratio (claims/premium) dropped from 172% to 30%
Tony Hopkins
Tony leads Horton/MMA’s Welding & Gas Practice and also has been one of the more active members on GAWDA’s safety committee since 2010. Tony has been invited to speak at many of the industry trade organizations, including GAWDA, IWDC, AIWD, MDG and the BIG Group on topics ranging from safety, claims/loss trends, enterprise risk management, Cyber/AI, contracts and market trends.
Material posted on this website is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a legal opinion or medical advice. Contact your legal representative or medical professional for information specific to your legal or medical needs.
