IL, CA, AZ, TX, FL

Expert Consultation Provided

Construction Defect, Asbestos, Environmental, etc.

Defense work reviewed for many specialty case types

Practice leaderS

Daniel P. Costello

Joshua Horwitz

Overview

Defense costs can be one of the most important cost considerations for an insurer when analyzing the cost of handling claims. If left unchecked or unreviewed, defense costs can spiral out of control, or outstrip what an insurer expected or anticipated. Across large books of business this can inflate the cost of handling claims for insurers, and can ultimately results in higher premiums for insureds.

As such, programs to control defense costs have become industry standard. There are a few ways this can be accomplished, either through defense spend audits, automated bill review programs, or hand review of thousands of lines of billing. These programs can be very effective at ensuring that insurers have control over their own defense spend, but implementing these systems isn’t easy. There is always a tension between ensuring that defense counsel are timely paid for their work and giving the insurer the ability to verify work done and ensuring their guidelines are enforced and upheld.

This is where Costello Ginex and Wideikis can help. We can create programs customized to the needs of our clients; such as specific expert analysis on particular issues, or creating bill review programs from the ground up. We often act as a coordinator between defense firms, insurers, and third party administrators to make sure the process runs as smoothly as possible. By leveraging technology and clearly defined processes we are able to provide consistent, reliable results to our clients. We have reviewed hundreds of millions of dollars worth of legal billing line-by-line for multiple different books of business including construction defect, asbestos, and environmental claims.