10:15 - 11:15 AM - General Session 2 

Choose from one of the following sessions:

Session Description

Back to the Future: Rebooting Proven Claims Strategies to Beat Runaway Verdicts
Technology hasn't solved the nuclear verdict crisis — discipline has. Seasoned claims leaders
examine how abandoning proven fundamentals opened the door to runaway verdicts, and why
returning to early collaboration, rigorous evaluation, and aligned defense is the path forward.

Presenters:
  • Martin Block, Sr. Claim Account Manager - Arch Insurance Group
  • Michael Cortese, SVP, Head of Casualty Claims - Westfield Specialty
  • Michael Dickert, Director, Liability Claims- Global Risk Management - Comcast NBCUniversal
  • Beth Fitch, Managing Partner - Righi & Fitch
  • Ted Schaer, Partner - Zarwin Baum Managing
Valuing Claims: The View from Inside, Outside, and Across the Table
Accurate valuation requires aligned perspectives, not just good data. This session explores how in-
house counsel, outside counsel, and adjusters each approach claim value, where misalignment
creates risk, and how collaboration leads to more defensible outcomes for everyone involved.
Presenters:
  • Max Brusky, AGC Litigation - Transdev North America
  • Amy Fitzpatrick, Senior Director, Claims & Litigation, Coaction Specialty Insurance Group
  • Tara Smith, Managing Partner – Smith Sconzert LLC

AI in Claims: Managing Outcomes, Variability, and What Claims Professionals Need to Know
AI is reshaping claims workflows, but inconsistent outputs may pose more risk than inaccurate ones.
This session examines how AI is being used across claims and litigation, where variability creates
exposure, and what practical controls keep decisions consistent and defensible.
Presenters:
  • Richard Ostriak, Partner – Margolis Edelstein
  • Henry Su, General Counsel – Golden Bear Insurance Company
  • Mark Trimble, Managing Partner – Rohrbacher Trimble & Zimmerman
Exposing Fraud by Proving a Lie: Investigation, Litigation, and RICO in Practice
From surveillance and deposition tactics to RICO actions targeting staged accidents and inflated
billing, this session teaches claims professionals how to identify and pull on the loose thread that
unravels a deceptive or fraudulent case, even when video proof is absent and over-treatment patterns
are the primary evidence.
Presenters:
  • Brian Donnelly, Partner - Cullen and Dykman LLP
  • Scott Gurtman, Partner - Cruser, Mitchell, Novitz, Sanchez, Gaston & Zimet, LLP
  • Sean Hepner, Claims Territory Manager - Canal Insurance
  • Mary-Ellen King, Partner - Lucosky Brookman