Frederick J. Fisher, JD, is the President of Fisher Consulting Group, Inc., a
Professional Liability firm. Since his career began, Mr. Fisher focused on one vision: providing financial security to the client. The result was a successful 40 year career in
Specialty Lines Insurance.
Mr. Fisher provides Expert Witness services and Litigation Strategies to attorneys representing Plaintiff and Defense. He testifies regularly as an expert witness in cases dealing with:
- Insurance Broker Standards of Care
- Real Estate Broker Standards of Care
- Third Party Administrator Standards (TPA)
- Claims Handling and Bad Faith
- Wholesale Broker Policies with "gotchya's"
Background Experience:
- For almost 20 years, Mr. Fisher was the Founder of E.L.M. Insurance Brokers, a Wholesale & MGA facility specializing in Professional Liability and Specialty Line Risks. In 1995, he formed what is now known as ELM insurance Brokers, a firm that has acted as an MGA and Wholesale Broker of Professional Liability Insurance and Specialty Lines. From nothing, the firm grew rapidly to a $30 Million dollar facility when sold in 2008
- Mr. Fisher began his career on the service side, as an Independent E&O claims adjuster. In 1982, he bought the Company. In only 4 years, the annual billings increased by 400%
- In 1989, Mr. Fisher became a Founding Member of the Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS), and was elected to the PLUS Board of Trustees in 1993. After serving in all Officer capacities, he was elected President in 1997. He remains a Special Materials Expert for several RPLU courses and is the Senior Technical Advisor for The Professional Liability Manual, first published by the International Risk Management Institute in 1990
For more information on his Litigation Support Services,
Email Frederick Fisher at: fjfisher@fishercg.com
View Frederick Fisher's Consulting Profile.
Insurance defense attorneys inhabit a confusing world in which even the "routine case" may need an expert witness for trial or a consultant to help with an early evaluation for settlement purposes. The legal precedents, regulations, and such don't often say what the profession's standard of care in the community is in the exact situation.
Rarely are clients immediately aware of the wrongful or erroneous actions of the "professional" they trusted to perform specific duties or services; mainly because "professional" acts or errors do not or only seldom cause immediate injury. A "professional's" wrongful acts or errors may not manifest in client injury until long after the act is perpetrated or the error is committed.
Two mutually exclusive goals are beginning to result in apparently unintended results within the executive and professional liability markets. The quest for underwriting profits and the desire to develop clear (to whatever extent possible) coverage language have rapidly changed the coverage landscape within these two lines of coverage.
The 35-year history of the claims-made policy form has not brought it stability or standardization. In fact, claims-made forms have begun to incorporate with increasing frequency additional and exclusionary language that is unfavorable to the policyholder.
The claims audit is the anathema of day-to-day claim operations. Nothing is more disruptive. Yet, if properly defined, nothing is more informative and helpful in improving a claim management program. This article will examine the need for a regular auditing program and provide a recipe for a three-dimensional approach to the process in order to maximize the accuracy of the audit results.
Professional liability claim management is a unique area of insurance claim responsibilities. Indeed, there are as many ways to supervise, manage, and investigate professional liability claims as there are different lines of professional liability coverage. This article will address the key issues that are involved in the investigation and resolution of nonmedical and non-D&O claims under professional liability policies.
