Investigating Counsel & Monitoring Counsel

Overview

Investigating Counsel

Florida’s laws governing post-accident investigations place immense pressure on insurance companies and their claims handlers. With the requirement to commence investigation within ten days and render a compensability decision ninety days thereafter, the early stage of adjusting a claim is a pressure cooker–the clock is ticking and everything feels urgent.

At Kelley Kronenberg, our attorneys specialize in conducting swift and comprehensive claim investigations, making it easier for you to meet your duty to promptly and properly evaluate and handle each claim.

Plaintiffs’ attorneys look for delays in the investigative process as a basis for asserting a bad faith claim. By using Investigating Counsel, the carrier can quickly investigate and pay the claim, if appropriate, before a request is received from a plaintiff or counsel. Our Investigating Counsel Team has unparalleled experience and expertise in pre-suit claims handling, with systems and processes in place designed to obtain the most information in the least amount of time. We ensure you can illustrate the extensive steps taken in furtherance of your claim decisions.

Relying on our expedience is one way to avert bad faith actions; our thoroughness is another. Plaintiffs’ attorneys often lodge bad faith actions with allegations of improper investigation. They question whether any key facts were ignored, whether in-person inspections were conducted, or whether the policyholder was asked the appropriate questions. We move quickly and leave no stone unturned. While every claim is different, our standard investigation includes obtaining medical records, conducting expedited discovery, and the utilization of key investigative tools, such as claim canvasses.

We complete as much as possible, as soon as possible, setting you up to make the proper claim determination and avoid bad faith claims based on improper denial. Our Investigating Counsel Team provides a comprehensive liability and exposure analysis, weighing the potential exposure against the likelihood of prevailing on any defenses, paving the way for early and accurate decisions about whether to pay and how much. Our analysis reveals whether the anticipated exposure exceeds the policy limits, helping you to formulate a good faith offer.

Early Handling of Catastrophic Claims

We recognize the vital importance of assisting clients in the first minutes and hours after a serious accident. The Kelley Kronenberg Rapid Response Task Force is comprised of attorneys with extensive experience managing serious post-accident discovery, claims, and litigation. Our dedicated team of attorneys and accident specialists are on-call and immediately ready to respond to catastrophic losses on behalf of our clients. Being on scene when our clients need us helps dictate the trajectory of the defense. Our early intervention could mean the difference between the ability to resolve the claim quickly and economically and an uncontrollable claim with incomprehensible exposure.

The Rapid Response Task Force provides our clients with a thorough investigation and evaluation of potential exposure, often within hours of a catastrophic occurrence. Immediately following a loss, our legal forensic team is dispatched to the scene of a catastrophe to deploy investigators, accident reconstruction experts, independent adjusters, and field investigators. With the assistance of these individuals, our Rapid Response attorneys can immediately begin the investigation of a serious accident, with an eye toward preserving and collecting information likely to have a major impact on the defense or resolution of claims.

Monitoring Counsel

Monitoring counsel is typically retained on claims involving catastrophic injuries due to the potential for substantial pecuniary loss and exceeding retention, reaching the excess layer of coverage. By engaging Kelley Kronenberg as Monitoring Counsel, our clients undertake proactive measures to mitigate or eliminate exposure to the excess layer.

Our attorneys balance a proactive and diplomatic approach in their role as Monitoring Counsel which produces the best possible results for our clients. Our experience has shown that Monitoring Counsel can work amicably and supportively with primary counsel to fully develop and influence the overall disposition of the claim. Without becoming adversarial, we find our involvement motivates counsel and encourages a more aggressive and detailed approach.

As Monitoring Counsel, we perform an independent and comprehensive review and analysis of the case, provide our expert opinion of liability and exposure, and offer detailed recommendations for the defense of each claim, including the selection of expert witnesses. Our team monitors the progress and cost of the defense and, when necessary, takes action to remedy any deficiencies in the investigation, discovery, or defense of a claim. Often, we are asked to participate in mediation, monitor discovery, and collaborate on strategies for trials. We also assist in negotiating the excess carrier’s settlement contribution. Throughout these processes, we keep our clients apprised of significant developments as they occur, enabling appropriate and accurate reserve allocations.

By actively overseeing every aspect of the case, we are able to ensure the case is handled in a way that serves the policyholders’ and the excess carriers’ best interests.