Insurance Underwriting and Claims Training Course

Participants can identify the legal and commercial foundations of insurable liability exposures.

• Civil liability concepts: duty, breach, causation, damage and legal remedy
• Contractual liability distinguished from tortious liability and statutory obligations
• Insurable interest, fortuity, indemnity and subrogation within liability insurance
• Occurrence-based and claims-made triggers compared through liability loss scenarios
• Vicarious liability arising from employees, agents, contractors and subsidiaries
• Jurisdiction, governing law and venue effects on claim severity

Participants can classify major liability risks and identify their principal exposure drivers.

• General liability exposures from premises, operations, products and completed work
• Professional indemnity allegations involving advice, design, services and omissions
• Employers’ liability exposures arising from workplace injury and occupational disease
• Directors’ and officers’ liability arising from management and governance decisions
• Cyber liability events involving privacy, network security and business interruption
• Sector exposure profiles for construction, manufacturing, financial services and healthcare

Participants can assess the completeness, reliability and underwriting significance of a liability submission.

• Submission triage using class, revenue, geography, limits and loss indicators
• Proposal forms reviewed for material facts, declarations and unanswered questions
• Financial statements analysed for turnover, liquidity, growth and client concentration
• Loss runs examined for frequency, severity, development and recurring causes
• Risk surveys assessed for controls, contractual practices and operational hazards
• Additional information requests framed around decision-critical underwriting uncertainties

Participants can make and document accept, decline, refer or modify decisions against underwriting appetite.

• Risk appetite filters applied before detailed rating and wording review
• Accept, decline, refer and modify decisions documented with clear rationale
• Hazard scoring separates inherent exposure from quality of risk controls
• Material change triggers identified during renewal and midterm policy review
• Aggregation concerns assessed across insured locations, products and common suppliers
• Referral memoranda prepared for risks exceeding class or authority parameters

Participants can build a technical premium from exposure measures, loss costs and expense assumptions.

• Exposure bases selected from revenue, payroll, headcount, fees and units
• Base rates adjusted for hazard, controls, territory, limits and experience
• Expected loss ratio used to test premium adequacy assumptions
• Expense and commission loadings incorporated into technical premium calculations
• Deductible credits and limit factors quantified using expected loss costs
• Rate change separated from exposure change when reviewing renewal premiums

Participants can analyse liability policy construction and identify material coverage gaps or ambiguities.

• Insuring agreements parsed for insureds, covered acts, damages and triggers
• Definitions tested against business activities, contractual commitments and corporate structure
• Exclusions reviewed for scope, carve-backs, aggregation and drafting conflicts
• Conditions analysed for notification, cooperation, consent and defence requirements
• Endorsements used to amend limits, exclusions, territories and insured entities
• Schedule details checked against proposal information and underwriting assumptions

Participants can structure liability terms that balance protection, retention and insurer capacity.

• Per-occurrence, aggregate and defence-cost limits distinguished in policy design
• Deductible structures matched to insured financial capacity and claim volatility
• Self-insured retentions compared with deductibles for defence and indemnity treatment
• Primary and excess layers structured around attachment points and exhaustion
• Contractual insurance requirements tested against proposed limits and wording
• Coverage towers reviewed for gaps, overlaps and inconsistent follow-form provisions

Participants can produce auditable underwriting files that support authority and governance requirements.

• Underwriting rationale records exposure, controls, pricing and wording decisions
• File checklists evidence proposal review, sanctions screening and referral approval
• Authority records distinguish approved terms from broker negotiation positions
• Sanctions, anti-money-laundering and beneficial ownership checks incorporated into acceptance
• Data quality controls reconcile policy schedules, rating inputs and issued documents
• Renewal diaries capture outstanding information, warranties and material change dates

Participants can monitor liability portfolio performance and identify accounts requiring corrective action.

• Written premium, earned premium and exposure trends interpreted by segment
• Loss ratio, combined ratio and rate adequacy monitored through dashboards
• Claims frequency and severity segmented by cause, territory and insured type
• Large-loss watchlists identify adverse development and accumulation concerns
• Renewal retention analysed alongside rate movement and underwriting quality
• Corrective actions include repricing, restrictive terms, referral and non-renewal

Participants can triage liability notifications and establish proportionate initial claims actions.

• First notification data captured for parties, allegations, dates and immediate risks
• Coverage triage distinguishes potential indemnity, defence and notification issues
• Urgency assessment identifies bodily injury, injunction, regulatory and reputational exposures
• Initial reserves set using claim facts, policy limits and severity indicators
• Acknowledgement communications explain information needs without prejudging coverage
• Claims diaries establish investigation milestones, reporting dates and authority checkpoints

Participants can produce a reasoned preliminary coverage analysis from policy wording and claim facts.

• Policy period and trigger analysis matched against alleged loss chronology
• Insured status verified against schedules, subsidiaries and contractual relationships
• Insuring clause requirements tested against allegations, damages and legal cause
• Exclusions and conditions assessed without extending wording beyond its terms
• Reservation of rights letters distinguish defence arrangements from indemnity decisions
• Coverage opinions documented with facts, wording references and unresolved questions

Participants can plan and control a liability claim investigation proportionate to exposure and coverage issues.

• Investigation plans define allegations, evidence sources, responsibilities and reporting milestones
• Witness statements, contracts, invoices and electronic records preserved systematically
• Loss adjuster instructions specify scope, authority, deliverables and reporting cadence
• Expert evidence commissioned for causation, quantum, engineering or professional standards
• Privilege considerations managed when appointing lawyers and technical experts
• Evidence chronologies separate verified facts, allegations, assumptions and disputed issues

Participants can establish and review claim reserves using evidence, development patterns and uncertainty ranges.

• Case reserves estimate defence costs, indemnity exposure and future handling expenses
• Reserve adequacy tested against policy limits, deductibles and emerging evidence
• Chain ladder method estimates ultimate losses from cumulative development patterns
• Bornhuetter-Ferguson method combines expected loss ratios with reported development
• IBNR reserves distinguish late reporting from inadequate case reserve development
• Reserve review notes explain changes, uncertainty and required management escalation

Participants can manage defended liability claims while controlling legal spend and settlement risk.

• Panel counsel selection considers expertise, conflicts, rates and jurisdictional capability
• Litigation budgets reviewed against strategy, milestones and forecasted case duration
• Defence strategy addresses liability, causation, quantum, contribution and procedural risk
• Mediation and settlement conferences assessed using BATNA and exposure ranges
• Counsel reporting requirements link legal developments to coverage and reserve changes
• Defence cost controls test invoices, staffing mix and agreed billing guidelines

Participants can execute settlement and recovery decisions while preserving a complete audit trail.

• Settlement authority submissions present liability, quantum, coverage and commercial rationale
• Release wording protects insureds, insurers and contribution rights after payment
• Subrogation opportunities identified against negligent third parties and contractual counterparties
• Contribution claims assessed where multiple policies or insurers may respond
• Salvage, recoveries and deductibles recorded against paid claim transactions
• Closure reviews capture lessons, outstanding recoveries and file documentation requirements

Participants can identify fraud and conduct concerns and respond through documented escalation procedures.

• Fraud indicators include inconsistent documents, inflated invoices and staged incidents
• Red flags assessed without making unsupported allegations against claimants or insureds
• Special investigation referrals document facts, suspicions and evidential preservation needs
• Fair claims handling requires timely communication, reasoned decisions and complaint rights
• Vulnerable claimant considerations incorporated into communication and settlement planning
• Complaint files distinguish service failures, coverage disputes and legal allegations

Participants can identify reinsurance implications and prepare effective large-loss notifications.

• Treaty and facultative reinsurance roles in liability capacity and volatility management
• Attachment points, retentions and limits mapped against gross claim exposure
• Reinsurance notification thresholds linked to reserves, loss circumstances and aggregation
• Large-loss reports present facts, coverage, reserve, strategy and recovery estimates
• Follow-the-settlements principles considered when documenting claims and settlement decisions
• Reinsurer communications managed without compromising insured confidentiality or privilege

Participants can use underwriting and claims data to identify trends, control weaknesses and action priorities.

• Exposure, premium and claims data reconciled before portfolio performance analysis
• Loss triangles used to identify development patterns and reserve deterioration
• Claim cause coding supports prevention actions, wording changes and pricing reviews
• Exception reports highlight overdue diaries, authority breaches and missing documentation
• Key risk indicators track concentration, claims frequency, severity and referral rates
• Management reports distinguish emerging signals from confirmed portfolio deterioration

Participants can build, review and present a complete liability underwriting and claims recommendation for a commercial account.

• Account dossier integrates submission data, policy wording, losses and exposure information
• Risk assessment identifies material hazards, controls, aggregation and referral triggers
• Technical premium model documents rating basis, adjustments and target profitability
• Proposed terms specify limits, deductibles, endorsements, exclusions and conditions
• Claims review sets coverage position, investigation plan, reserve and defence strategy
• Committee presentation defends recommendations using evidence, authority and portfolio implications