Litigative Problem-Solving in the Insurance Industry with Matthew Swafford

Matt Swafford is Senior Litigation Counsel at Shelter Insurance Companies, where he manages litigation across the United States for Shelter and affiliated companies and provides general counsel to Shelter’s claims branches. He practiced law in Kentucky for over ten years with a focus on insurance, business, and employment litigation, clerked for Justice Will T. Scott at the Supreme Court of Kentucky, and was a Staff Attorney for Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Barry Willett. At Northern Kentucky University – Salmon P. Chase College of Law, Matt graduated in the top ten percent of his class; was a member of the NKU Law Review’s Editorial Board; and interned for William O. Bertelsman, Federal District Court, Eastern District of Kentucky, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio. Matt is licensed to practice in both Kentucky and Ohio (inactive), holds the Institutes’ Chartered Property Casualty Underwriting CPCU designation, and is pursuing a Master’s Degree in Insurance Management at Columbia University in the City of New York. In this episode of the In The Know podcast, Chris Hampshire and Matt consider the pros and cons of litigative problem-solving in the insurance industry, how it differs from the law firm environment, and what the future of the industry may look like from a legal perspective.

 

Key Takeaways

 

• Matt recalls how much he had to learn about insurance in the early days of his career.

• Transitioning from a law firm to in-house counsel at an insurance carrier.

• Appealing offerings from the Columbia Master’s Degree in Insurance Management.

• The self-serving reason behind and benefits of Matt’s CPCU designation.

• Networking opportunities that have resulted from Matt’s CPCU designation.

• Key differences between a carrier and a law firm environment.

• Hallmarks of an effective outside counsel-carrier relationship.

• What Matt wishes other departments knew about the carrier legal group.

• Best practices to mitigate the impact of social inflation.

• Key takeaways from Matt’s time working outside a traditional law firm.

• Addressing the talent gap in the insurance industry.

• A five-year look at the future of the industry.

• Matt’s advice to his early career self.

 

Quotes

• “The thing I learned when I first started practicing [insurance defense] was how very little I knew about insurance.”

• “I really wanted a business background and felt like I needed it to move forward in an in-house role.”

• “Communication is number one. You want to keep open lines of communication and communicate often.”

• “I can see how these kinds of cases play out and still not be the one who is carrying the pressure and the weight of trying to reach a successful resolve.”

• “Sometimes law firms can be a very competitive, dog-eat-dog environment, and it’s just not like that in-house.”

• “Learning how technology works in the insurance industry is going to be absolutely critical moving forward.”