Insurance Premium Audits Expert Witnesses: 4

Michelle Villarreal, AIC, AINS, is a highly accomplished and respected professional with proven success and experience in Insurance and Reinsurance company auditing, operational development, and claim management.

Ms. Villarreal has been a member of the insurance industry for over 30 years. She is the President and CEO of Occupational Accident Risk, Inc, a Third Party Administrator specializing in Texas work injury programs. They have been in the Third Party Administration industry since 2006, offering services in both workers compensation and Texas Non-Subscription. In 2019, Occupational Accident Risk rebranded themselves concentrating solely on the nuances of Texas Non-Subscription programs.

Litigation Support - Ms. Villarreal is articulate and pragmatic in dealing with all levels of insurance company management. She is an approved continuing education ethics provider for the Texas Department of workers compensation. She is available to attorneys representing plaintiff and defendant. Services include thorough reporting, depositions, and trial testimony as needed.

Areas of Expertise:

Joe L. Williams, CPCU, partner in Pozmantier, Williams & Stone Insurance Consultants, LLC, has over 60 years of experience as an Insurance Agent / Broker and Insurance Consultant. From 1970 until 2007, he was a principal shareholder in a large Houston firm, Wisenberg Insurance + Risk Management, and was Chairman and CEO when the firm was sold to a subsidiary of Wells Fargo Bank. One of the youngest people ever to receive the CPCU professional designation at the age of 23, Mr. Williams is very familiar with all phases of the insurance industry, including consulting on bad faith, customs and practices, and standards of care. He has particular expertise in property coverage, business interruption, non-subscription, and risk transfer techniques. Litigation Support - Mr. Williams provides expert services to counsel representing both Plaintiff and Defense. He offers objective opinions on the following matters:

• Agent / Broker Bad Faith
• Insurance Industry Customs & Practices
• Agent / Broker Standards of Care
• Coverage Terms and Conditions
• Agent / Broker Services
• Insurance Program Design
• Agency / Company Disputes
• Claims Management by Agent
• Insurance Agency Management

View Joe Williams' Consulting Profile.

Scott S. Margraves, CIC, has over 32 years of Commercial Property and Casualty Insurance experience. He is the Principal Consultant and Founder of Gulf Coast Risk Management, LLC (GCRM). GCRM provides research, analysis and advice to commerce, industry, government and individuals. 

GCRM operates COIs R Us, a certificate of insurance (COI) compliance and tracking company. COIs R Us compares the contractual obligations of a lease agreement with the COI. COIs R Us processes thousands of COIs for landlords and general contractors for compliance annually.

Litigation Support - Mr. Margraves has been designated as an expert witness in 19 case assignments: 16 State cases and 3 Federal cases. Case assignments are divided between 10 for Defense and 9 for Plaintiff, including Arkansas, Illinois, Louisiana, New Mexico and Texas. Services include standard of care review, deposition question preparation, document review, and trial testimony as needed.

Areas of Expertise:

Background Experience - GCRM provides consulting services to attorneys, property managers, and general contractors regarding insurance placement, interpretation, and recommended contractual insurance requirements while explaining the relationship and alignment with indemnity and insurance provisions.

Mr. Margraves is well-versed in the placement of insurance policies from an insured's perspective. As a front-line producer, he weathered forty three (five major) hurricanes, three “five-hundred-year" floods and multiple catastrophic fire claims. Agency roles include insurance broker, claims supervisor, agency partner, and risk manager. He is Past President of the Independent Insurance Agents of Houston, Past Vice chairman of IIAT IMPACT Region 10, Member of Insurance Academy, and Lifetime Committeemen for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

Mr. Margraves started his second career as a full-time consultant in 2020. He is an insurance industry expert that brings extensive experience in all aspects of property casualty insurance interpretation, policy forms, claims, safety programs, HR coordination and contract integration.

View GCRM's Consulting Profile.

Edward J. Priz, CPCU, APA, has worked full-time in the Insurance Industry since 1976. In 1982, he also began consulting on commercial property and casualty insurance, and Workers Compensation insurance premium charges, and in 1987 established his own consulting firm to specialize in those fields, as Advanced Insurance Management. 

Mr. Priz holds the professional designation Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) from the American Institute of Property and Liability Underwriters, as well as the designation Associate in Premium Auditing, from the Insurance Institute of America. 

Litigation Support - Mr. Priz has been retained by policyholders, insurance agents and brokers, insurance companies, and a premium audit firm as an expert witness in his field, both as a consulting expert and as a testifying expert. He serves as an expert witness to counsel for Plaintiff and Defense and has testified in federal and state courts and arbitrations in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. He is a member of the Forensic Expert Witness Association and currently serves as Vice-President of the Chicago chapter of that organization. He is also a member of the Society of Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters, and the National Society of Insurance Premium Auditors. 

Mr. Priz has also consulted on the drafting of legislation pertaining to Workers Compensation insurance in Illinois and has testified on insurance regulation before the Illinois legislature. He is the author of three books on the subject of Workers' Compensation insurance.

Edward Priz Expert Witness Services

Areas of Expertise:

View Edward Priz's Consulting Profile.