Claims + Damage Recovery (Apr 11-13)

Join us at CUCINA enoteca for networking and hor d'oeuvres, co-sponsored by AEGIS Insurance Services, Inc. and JNR Adjustment Company, Inc. CUCINA enoteca features California-inspired Italian cuisine and sits on the northwest side of the Irvine Spectrum Center.

532 Spectrum Center Dr
Irvine, CA 92618

Enjoy a hot breakfast at Southern California Edison sponsored by KPMG.

Our chair will welcome us to the forum and kick-off conversation through round-robin attendee introductions. Come prepared to share recent successes and set-backs.

Contacting 811 is the start to safe excavation, but how did we get here and what do we still need to do to prevent damage to underground lines?
This presentation will look at how 811 (the national number to contact before digging) came about, how all stakeholders need to be involved in the process, legislation regarding safe digging, and how to follow damage trends to find ways to reduce costs and promote safety.

Vegetation management programs prevent and mitigate general liability claims for a variety of public safety risks, including fire.
This presentation will look at vegetation management practices, discuss the challenges that utilities face in the aftermath of vegetation behaving badly and introduce ideas/topics that claim professionals should be aware of and/or keep in mind while investigating claims related to vegetation management practices.

Enjoy a catered lunch onsite sponsored by Phoenix Loss Control.

Join this session to receive a 101 quick guide to Fire Scene Investigation and how it can help build your claim file. Conversation will cover:

• Proper fire scene investigation for the non CFI.
• What should you be looking for.
• What info you should be requesting.
• Why you need to think beyond cause origination and consider implications of smart meter data, chronology, witnesses, and evidence.
• How you can best align with your operations team on safety-related items such as proper personal protective equipment.

Join this session to hear best practices in defending structure fires in investigations. Conversation will cover:

• Interaction between the claims team and your litigation section.
• Initial evaluation: property damage only or are there bodily injuries?
• Evidence removal and preservation. What should you consider after the dust settles?
• Experts, employee interviews, witness interviews and potential joint evidence examinations.
• Are there other issues you should consider such as inverse condemnation or PUC Jurisdiction?

Lastly, discussion will turn toward best practices in the resolution of these types of cases.

Join us for a tour of Southern California Edison’s Reliability Operations Center. You’ll gain a general understanding of the roles of the grid operations staff and the various tools used to enhance reliability. There will be a demonstration of early damage detection, fault location, and circuit health monitoring with examples of real-time operator role and responsibilities. Learn how these tools can assist you with your claims handling and claims investigations.

Join this roundtable discussion to explore emerging technologies in the utility industry, and hear novel applications of existing technology in current claims management.

Join us for a hosted networking dinner at Paul Martin's American Grill:

534 Spectrum Center Dr
Irvine, CA 92618

Enjoy a hot breakfast at Southern California Edison.

This session provides time for attendees to address new topics and/or elaborate upon previous discussions at the forum. Attendees are encouraged to come prepared with one "top of mind" issue for discussion.

Electric system integrity in the 21st century is at risk due to energy theft, generator backfeed, large and small scale marijuana grows, and the emergence of cryptocurrency mining and blockchain technology. These factors require utilities to monitor an increasing array of threats to the grid. The predictable Kilowatt hour consumption of the past has given way to situations of increased load, and in some cases exceeded 100 times traditional energy usage. In this session, we will examine the experiences of two utilities in handling exceptional load increases and their perspectives on how to mitigate against potential points of failure. First, we will examine a case study regarding an electric diversion (energy theft) that overloaded a transformer, resulted in a fault condition that ultimately damaged an underground natural gas line. The ensuing gas leak was identified as a contributing factor to a structure fire. We will also explore how utilities address the impacts of the dramatic rise in mixed-use electrical energy beyond the meter, and will spotlight what one utility is doing to uncover and manage this growing threat that impacts public safety, can put utility employees in harm’s way, and negatively impact grid reliability.  

Utility damage claims are oftentimes met with significant challenges or resistance from 3rd party auditors hired by the responsible parties or insurance carriers. What can you do to counter these arguments and maximize recovery on your damage claims? You will gain insight from Southern California Edison Company on what strategies it has employed in order to improve its efficiency and success in its collections activity. Our speaker will share specific examples of verbiage, insurance regulations and regulatory codes that are utilized in response to 3rd party auditor communication. Come prepared to share your challenges and success stories.

Enjoy a catered lunch onsite as we begin discussions on plans for the 2019 forum.

In this session, our presenter will take us on a deep dive of “Reptile Theory” tactics used by plaintiffs to achieve monumental damage awards and how Claims organizations can best spot these tactics and minimize their effects. Reptilian tactics are designed to play to the inherent fears of certain jurors and rally them to “protect their communities” by punishing defendants for engaging in perceived unsafe practices. Identifying the application of reptilian practices early, crafting discovery and discovery responses in a manner that doesn’t play into this practice and creating a strong game plan, is the recipe for success. This program is designed to be audience interactive and will benefit anyone charged with preparing the defense of claims.

Interested in improving our forum experience? Join us as we continue our discussion to evaluate this forum and discuss ideas for the next. This session is also a great starting point for those who wish to volunteer as a planning team member for 2019 planning.