James A. Robertson

James Robertson wrote two articles on risk and insurance history for IRMI.com.

Mr. Robertson is president of Interisk Limited, a management consulting firm specializing in risk management and insurance litigation consulting. He specializes in consulting for attorneys on industry customs and practices related to insurance coverage litigation, suits involving insurance agents and brokers professional responsibilities, duties or errors and omissions, and claims management. He also has provided consulting services on captives, risk retention groups, and other self-insurance programs, contract reviews and other insurance and risk management services.

Mr. Robertson began his insurance career in 1970 as a casualty underwriter, and then supervising underwriter, for a major insurance group. Later, he was the underwriting and administrative manager of a multi-office regional brokerage firm, and then served as senior vice president of the risk management consulting subsidiary for a major international brokerage firm. He served as director of insurance consulting and litigation consulting for a "Big Six" accounting firm and also worked for another well-known risk management consulting firm before establishing his own consulting practice. He has primarily focused on providing consulting services since 1975.

In the 1970s he became internationally known after publication of the original edition of The Umbrella Book, which was one of the first publications to reveal the vast wording and coverage differences between various types of umbrella and excess liability policy forms. By the early 1980s, Mr. Robertson's analysis covered over 100 different umbrella forms. Even though he separated from The Umbrella Book in 1984, he has continued to perform research into the origins of many types of liability coverage forms, and to collect policy forms of all types for his extensive reference files.

Mr. Robertson has directed and performed major risk management studies for over 100 public and private entities, including a number of Fortune-ranked corporations. In addition to risk management audits, he has performed specialized administrative studies, risk financing plan designs, captive insurer feasibility studies, and insurance reviews. He has served as an expert in over 200 insurance litigation matters, encompassing virtually every major type of property and liability insurance coverage.

In addition to the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), and Associate in Risk Management (ARM) professional designations, Mr. Robertson has a BA degree from the University of Iowa and an MSA degree from Pepperdine University. He is also an Associate of the Society of Chartered Life Underwriters. Mr. Robertson is active in The Society of CPCU on both the local and national levels. He was the founder and served as chairman of the Consulting, Litigation and Expert Witness (CLEW) Section of the Society. He is a member of the Society of Risk Management Consultants for which he has also served as a director and member of the professional practices committee. He is an Associate Member of the American Bar Association Dispute Resolution and TIPS sections. He has been listed in Who's Who in America, Who's Who in Finance and Industry, Who's Who in American Law and Who's Who in the West.

Mr. Robertson has taught and lectured extensively on all types of property and casualty insurance coverages, self-insurance, captives, quantitative and statistical methods used in risk management, and practices for insurance agents and brokers to more effectively handle large accounts, provide client services and control errors & omissions. His publications include ISO Commercial Liability Forms: A Side-by-Side Comparison, The Captive Insurance Manual, It's Time to Take the Mystery Out of Umbrellas, and The Umbrella Book. His numerous published articles have appeared in Business Insurance, Risk Management, The Broker, and the CPCU Journal, among others.

Articles on IRMI.com

Insurance Industry: Risk and Insurance History

How Umbrella Policies Started—Part 1: Early Liability Coverage (March 2000)

How Umbrella Policies Started—Part 2: The First Umbrella Forms (April 2000)