Rutgers-Camden to Host Conference on Insurance Claims Practices

CAMDEN — An effective and fair process for investigating and resolving insurance claims is at the core of the relationship between an insurer and a policyholder.

To explore the laws governing insurance claims practices today, the Rutgers School of Law–Camden is bringing together industry experts and scholars for “Bad Faith and Beyond: A Conference on the Law of Claims Practices” from 9:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 29.

“Insurance provides peace of mind and financial security to consumers, but only when it works,” says Jay Feinman, a distinguished professor of law at the Rutgers School of Law–Camden. “Insurance works only if insurance companies pay claims promptly and fairly. The conference will explore how the law can encourage companies to do so and provide remedies when they don’t, while not imposing undue costs on the companies.”

Feinman, who has written widely on tort law, insurance law, and other subjects, says the conference creates a forum in which legal academics, practicing lawyers, people in the insurance industry, and regulators can get together to exchange ideas.

The conference is the first presented by the Rutgers School of Law–Camden’s new Center for Risk and Responsibility, a resource created to promote interchange across the disciplines that study risk through workshops and conferences. Organizers of the conference are Adam Scales, a professor of law at Rutgers–Camden and a nationally known expert on insurance law; Rick Swedloff, an assistant professor of law at Rutgers–Camden; and Feinman.

“We want to bring together people who are interested in the overlapping set of issues related to how society manages risk and risk allocation,” Scales says. “The center becomes a device for concentrating our efforts in that area.”

Other confirmed speakers at the Feb. 29 conference include three of the leading insurance law scholars in the United States, two economists, two nationally known practitioners who have also written major scholarly works, the country’s leading advocate for insurance consumers, and other scholars.

The speakers are: Kenneth S. Abraham, professor, University of Virginia School of Law; Amy Bach, executive director, United Policyholders; Tom Baker, professor, University of Pennsylvania School of Law; Mark Browne, professor, University of Wisconsin School of Business; Robert Jerry, dean and professor, University of Florida Levin College of Law; Ellen Smith Pryor, professor, SMU Dedman School of Law; Douglas R. Richmond, managing director, AON Risk Services; Thomas F. Segalla, founding partner, Goldberg Segalla LLP; Peter Siegelman, professor, University of Connecticut School of Law; and Sharon Tennyson, associate professor, Cornell University College of Human Ecology.

The conference is approved for continuing legal education credits and is co-sponsored by the Rutgers Institute for Professional Education.

To register, or for more information, visit badfaithandbeyond.rutgers.edu.