The Building BITE

Please tune in to this episode of The Building BITE Podcast, as we hear from industry experts about key topics to help you be successful. The Building BITE hosts Chris Epps, LEED AP and Mike Diercksen, CRIS, welcome Tracy Saxe, President at SDV Law in Trumbull CT. We begin the episode by discussing Tracy’s path to Insurance Law and what drew him to the field. Realizing how complex this area of law was, and the unique challenges that each project would present, Tracy was driven to open his own firm, SDV Law. Operating on a national scale, SDV employs 50 lawyers and specializes in representing policyholders in insurance coverage disputes. While diving into our topic, Tracy gives our listeners three excellent takeaways and best practices when exploring Builders Risk Coverage: 1. If a claim occurs, get off email and stop finger pointing: Rather than begin with finger pointing, look to process the first party claim, get the money to help rectify the issue, and then figure out if there even is a need to pursue further action. Sending emails and prematurely issuing blame can lead to potential exclusions in the policy and create larger problems down the road. 2. In the event of a new claim, treat this as a new project: When a claim occurs, make sure your team is prepped and ready to treat the project as a brand new one. The events of the claim may drastically impact the way in which you have to operate to complete the project, and your billing codes should be updated accordingly to reflect those changes. 3. Assemble your entire team pre-loss: If you are going to have an outside expert either for scheduling, quantification, engineering etc. It is important to not only identify this team, but to consistently use this team to help build familiarity among the parties. This will allow for improved coordination and expedite the mitigation efforts for the insured. To learn more about how you can better prepare your firm for the challenges ahead, listen to our full podcast episode with Tracy on “A Focus on Builders Risk, From a Legal Perspective” Please like, share, and subscribe to this podcast!