What We Do

Where Legal Strategy Meets Claims Efficiency

LAE & Cost Containment

Loss Adjustment Expense (LAE) is a critical factor that insurance professionals must consider when investigating and settling claims. At FPC we work with you, our insurance clients, to provide tailored services with evaluation turn-around times that meet your specific needs. For claims professionals, our vendor service provides an alternative to assigning presuit claims to panel counsel, where legal fees would increase substantially for what we provide with a fiscally responsible approach.

“Settle” recommendations will provide all the analysis and support needed to substantiate the position as well as the proposed settlement value.  This analysis will also take into consideration the expense of defending the claim, including anticipated legal fees and costs associated with expert retention.

“Defend” recommendations will provide an initial litigation action plan, allowing you to instruct defense counsel on items that require immediate attention once a suit is filed.  This will expedite the defense while reducing expenses and ensuring compliance with Florida’s stringent and evolving litigation timelines.

Team Collaboration & Expertise

At FPC, we believe in collaborating as a team on all aspects of a claim review assigned to our office. Whatever your specific needs are in a particular matter, taking directions and offering suggestions within a collaborative environment ensures the most effective results. We encourage insurance professionals to utilize their experience and training in conjunction with our Florida-specific expertise to maximize claims handling.

From tort reform to changes in the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure and case management orders with tight windows, we are experiencing a massive pivot point in how presuit claims should be addressed. Whether its the two-year statute of limitations; the modified comparative negligence standard; the admissibility of medical bills and letters of protection; or the new standards in negligent security cases and what constitutes Bad Faith in the claims handling process, at FPC we are ready to work hand in hand with our insurance industry customers to the effectuate early presuit resolution of claims. If defending, we will work together to ensure you have a foundational action plan to continue with a pragmatic approach once litigation commences and you assign the defense of the case.

Evaluation & Strategy

With a cost-conscious approach, we expect to augment our client’s presuit claims evaluations and contribute to effective resolutions. We appreciate that presuit claims handling often present variables, so we do not present a one-size-fits-all service. Instead, we work with you, as a team, to provide the information, analysis and evaluations you need in executing your role as claims professional effectively and efficiently.

Where settlement is recommended, we will provide a comprehensive analysis of liability, damages and cost considerations in support of our proposed settlement value.

Where we suggest a claim should be defended, we will deliver a detailed litigation plan with an itemization of issues and information that will need attention once the claim goes into suit. This will allow our insurance clients to instruct defense counsel on items that require immediate attention at the outset of a new case assignment.

As a result, claims professionals should see a more streamlined defense of the matter from the start. In turn, this will have a positive impact on legal fees and our litigation plan will help to avoid litigated claims from becoming stagnant early on.

Negotiation & Resolution

Our mission at FPC is to eliminate the element of having a “vested interest” in presuit claims becoming litigated matters. Not all presuit claims require attorney evaluations, but when they do, FPC is there for you. When your communications with claimant counsel have stalled over differing views on liability, damages and/or case valuation, we at FPC are ready to help with your negotiation efforts. If you are considering retaining counsel to assist on a presuit matter but are not certain it merits litigating, that’s where FPC can bridge the gap while keeping expenses in check.

As a vendor, FPC offers or clients an opportunity to get a critical evaluation of all aspects of a presuit claim in a fraction of the time and costs versus that of a traditional law firm. No more waiting 30 days or more for an initial report that amounts to a summary of the claim file materials you are already familiar with and which very often do not provide settlement values and/or defense strategy.

Incident Management & Spoliation

Florida tort reform and changes in the Rules of Civil Procedure have resulted in attorney representation increasing earlier in the life of a claim. In fact, recent data within the State shows that up to 85% of matters which were eventually litigated had attorney representation in place within the first 14 days of a claim. Therefore, it is often imperative to have early incident management in place. Whether conducting a thorough investigation and/or a comprehensive interview and evidence collection effort, having an FPC attorney at your command early in the life of a claim can make a significant difference in preserving and documenting while helping avoid potential spoliation by the insured.

Our scope of work is focused on consulting with you during the investigation and evaluation of your presuit claims while using our Florida-specific expertise and a team-driven approach to help determine whether to settle or defend. In either case, our engagement is limited to the presuit process. However, within those parameters, we can serve in other capacities from assisting with the negotiation process to conducting “boots on the ground” investigations and evidence preservation. We can also make real-time recommendations for liability and damages experts and can facilitate communications, site inspections, scene investigations/reconstructions and related investigation work.