Course Descriptions
Insurance Coverage Master Class | May 2026
Don’t miss Wilson Elser’s complimentary Insurance Coverage Master Class series.
Join members of our Insurance Coverage Practice for a six-part webinar series examining the complex coverage issues presenting the greatest challenges for insurers today and in the years ahead. Designed for senior-level coverage professionals and executives, each session focuses on a timely topic, offering practical insights and analysis.
Join one or all sessions for practical insights from Wilson Elser’s industry experts.
MAY 5, 1 PM ET
Words Matter: How and Why Insurers Face Issues with Policy and Application Language
Jonathan Meer, Stephanie Reda, and Martin Ween
This presentation focuses on the importance of carefully drafting insurance policies, endorsements, and applications to avoid legal disputes regarding meaning and interpretation. This session examines key themes in coverage disputes, particularly issues surrounding policy interpretation and ambiguous words and phrases. The presenters will share caselaw examples and address how counsel can assist in limiting the risks of coverage disputes.
MAY 7, 1 PM ET
First Party Claims: Effectively Dealing with (and Using) Claims Consultants
Kirsten Curtis and Peter Moore
This presentation provides an overview of good first-party claims handling, drilling down on when to retain, and how to effectively use independent adjusters, engineers, meteorologists, and other experts and consultants. The presenters will also discuss the effective use of the appraisal process, providing practical examples from real claims in which consultants played a significant role in resolving them, along with lessons gleaned from those cases.
MAY 7, 1 PM ET
First Party Claims: Effectively Dealing with (and Using) Claims Consultants
Kirsten Curtis and Peter Moore
This presentation provides an overview of good first-party claims handling, drilling down on when to retain, and how to effectively use independent adjusters, engineers, meteorologists, and other experts and consultants. The presenters will also discuss the effective use of the appraisal process, providing practical examples from real claims in which consultants played a significant role in resolving them, along with lessons gleaned from those cases.
MAY 12 , 1 PM ET
Generative AI and the Future of Coverage Litigation
Richard Boone and Daniel Tranen
This presentation examines AI-related lawsuits, from claims accusing companies of overstating their AI capabilities to those alleging discrimination tied to automated hiring tools, and considers how existing policies may or may not address them. The session also explores the growing trend of AI-specific coverage and policy exclusions, offering practical steps insurers can take to proactively prepare for discovery challenges related to their use of AI, as well as guidance for policyholders, brokers, underwriters, and claims professionals seeking to identify and close gaps in coverage. Whether you work in insurance, practice law, or simply want to understand how AI is reshaping risk and liability on both sides of the coverage equation, this presentation offers a clear, accessible overview of the issues that matter most today.
MAY 14 , 1 PM ET
Getting To It: Commercial General Liability Coverage for Rip and Tear
Blake Crawford and John Podesta
When you have defective construction that requires accessing the defect to make repairs, one of the confounding problems facing insurers is determining how much, if anything, is covered under a contractor’s commercial general liability insurance policy. This presentation provides jurisdictional context to the problem and offers practical approaches to help carriers evaluate their covered damage exposure.
MAY 14 , 1 PM ET
Getting To It: Commercial General Liability Coverage for Rip and Tear
Blake Crawford and John Podesta
When you have defective construction that requires accessing the defect to make repairs, one of the confounding problems facing insurers is determining how much, if anything, is covered under a contractor’s commercial general liability insurance policy. This presentation provides jurisdictional context to the problem and offers practical approaches to help carriers evaluate their covered damage exposure.
MAY 19 , 1 PM ET
Bad Faith Across the Badlands
Bryce Adams, Lisa Wilson, and Jane Young
This presentation examines extra-contractual claims in Colorado, Oregon, Texas, and Washington, focusing on the current trends and potential pitfalls in these jurisdictions, including those that exist before the lawsuit is even filed. It also addresses the standards for bad faith in these states, the exposure these claims create, and the particularly dangerous types of damages unique to these jurisdictions.
MAY 21 , 1 PM ET
Navigating Related Claims in Directors and Officers (D&O) Insurance Policies
Tommy Spitaletto and Siobhán Mueller
This presentation provides a comprehensive overview of related claims and interrelated wrongful acts provisions in Directors and Officers (D&O) policies. Because D&O liability insurance is primarily written on a claims-made and reported basis, issues of timing, notice, and policy year attachment are central to coverage. The presenters will explain how these provisions operate to aggregate multiple claims, such as multiple lawsuits, into a single claim, often deemed first made at the earliest date among them. The session explores how courts interpret “relatedness,” and how those interpretations can affect how multiple claims are grouped, which policy period applies, and the extent of coverage available to the insured. The presenters also address key variables, including the specific D&O policy language, the underlying facts that potentially relate the matters, and the governing jurisdiction’s interpretive approach, along with recent case law on the litigation of provisions and the implications for coverage.
MAY 21 , 1 PM ET
Navigating Related Claims in Directors and Officers (D&O) Insurance Policies
Tommy Spitaletto and Siobhán Mueller
This presentation provides a comprehensive overview of related claims and interrelated wrongful acts provisions in Directors and Officers (D&O) policies. Because D&O liability insurance is primarily written on a claims-made and reported basis, issues of timing, notice, and policy year attachment are central to coverage. The presenters will explain how these provisions operate to aggregate multiple claims, such as multiple lawsuits, into a single claim, often deemed first made at the earliest date among them. The session explores how courts interpret “relatedness,” and how those interpretations can affect how multiple claims are grouped, which policy period applies, and the extent of coverage available to the insured. The presenters also address key variables, including the specific D&O policy language, the underlying facts that potentially relate the matters, and the governing jurisdiction’s interpretive approach, along with recent case law on the litigation of provisions and the implications for coverage.
Stay ahead of emerging challenges in today’s complex risk landscape.