AI Issue 7 2017

14 Acquisition International - July 2017 Innovation Insurance Group is an insurance consulting firm and insurance brokerage, founded in 2011 by the 35-year insurance executive, Ty R. Sagalow. Following the firm’s success in achieving the Leading Adviser 2017 - Leading Expert Witness of the Year – USA award, we interviewed CEO & Founder Ty R. Sagalow to discover more. irst of all, congratulations of winning the Expert of the Year award for the United States. Can you provide a short overview of Innovation Insurance Group, LLC? Thank-you, it is an honour to be given this award. Innovation Insurance Group (IIG) is a premier consulting firm to the insurance industry providing product development, InsurTech consulting and, of course, insurance coverage expert witness services. Let’s first talk about your background? For 25 years, I held several senior roles at AIG including General Counsel, Chief Underwriting Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Innovation Officer for several divisions. I authored many of the financial lines insurance policies used in the market today and created the underwriting theories behind those policies. Following AIG, I held senior positions with Zurich N.A. and the Tower Group Can you tell us what education you have had? Sure. I graduated Georgetown Law Center and hold a LLM from New York University Law School. I am also a licensed P&C broker in several states. Excellent. I can see how people who want you as an expert witness. How long have you been providing this service? We have been providing this service for approximately 59 months and have been retained 54 times during that period. Wow, that’s amazing. A new case every month! Who are your typical customers? We are retained by both policyholders and carriers, about 50/50. We are also retained by insurance brokers. Company: Innovation Insur- ance Group, LLC Name: Ty R. Sagalow CEO & Founder Email: tysagalow@innovation- insurancegroup.com Web Address: innovationinsur- ancegroup.com Address: 2 World Financial Center, 30FL, New York, NY 10028 USA An intimate interview with our ExpertWitness of the Year (U.S.) F 1705AI49 Interesting. Most experts work exclusively for one side or the other. Was the decision to work for both purposeful? Very much so. We feel that experts that work only for policyholders, or only for carriers, can be accused of not being objective in their evaluation of the issue in dispute. I can see how clients would prefer an expert who has worked on both sides, like you. Tell me more about the types of cases you have. Are they all coverage disputes? The vast majority are. However, a solid minority deal with issues that have nothing to do with coverage such as the liability of an insurance broker? Given your background is on the underwriting side, that’s make sense? But do you provide expert witness services on claims handling like bad faith? Absolutely. In fact, many of my coverage dispute cases have a bad faith component on which I provide an expert opinion. And, based on what you said earlier, I suppose you have taken cases both representing the broker and against the broker? Correct. As the case with insurance coverage disputes. I take cases I believe in regardless of which side the party is on. What types of policies do you specialise in? Our most common cases deal with directors and officers, professional liability or other ‘financial lines’ policies. However, we have also been retained in GL, business interruption and even farm policy forms. Clients often want to know whether the proposed expert has testified. Have you? Oh, yes. About 15 times to date, including once at trial. The other question we often get is whether the expert has ever held to be an expert under Rule 702 of the Federal Rules? Have you? Yes. The case can be found on my web site. “For the insurance carrier, their biggest challenge is realising that the answer to a coverage issue does not end with just reading the words in the policy.”