Press Release

Bethany Barrese Receives Words of Wisdom Award at the 2026 IRMI Construction Risk Conference

National Harbor, MD, October 27, 2026—Bethany Barrese, partner at SDV Fenchurch, was honored today with the 2026 IRMI Words of Wisdom (WOW) Award at the International Risk Management Institute, Inc. (IRMI), Construction Risk Conference (CRC).  

The award is presented annually to a speaker who consistently lands in the top tier of attendee speaker evaluations at IRMI CRC, an annual Conference for construction risk management and insurance professionals. Past attendees have praised Ms. Barrese with comments such as the following.  

"An exceptional presentation that seamlessly blended deep insights with practical solutions." 

"Great examples, helpful content, excellent sense of humor." 

"My favorite session by far! Perfection."  

Ms. Barrese represents policyholders in many industries, including commercial real estate, construction, higher education, power and energy, and hospitality. She helps clients recover on claims under all types of policies, including commercial general liability, builders risk, professional liability, cyber, environmental pollution, and captive policies. She also helps clients write contractual indemnity and insurance provisions to reduce their risk exposure. 

She has resolved coverage disputes at both the trial and appellate levels. Her most notable cases include the appeal of Nash Street, LLC v. Main Street America Assurance Co., which set an important policyholder-friendly precedent under Connecticut law. She has also resolved complex coverage issues involving post-9/11 World Trade Center first responder injury claims. Ms. Barrese is a sought-after speaker on insurance coverage issues. She has taught the Insurance Litigation course in the University of Connecticut School of Law's master of laws program in insurance law. She serves on her firm's Executive Committee and Management Committee and established its New Jersey office in 2017. 

For more information about the WOW Award, visit https://www.irmi.com/conferences/construction-risk-conference/words-of-wisdom-award-crc. 

About IRMI 

For more than 40 years, IRMI has helped our customers save lives and livelihoods as the premier provider of risk management and insurance information, tools, education, and training. IRMI helps risk management, insurance, and legal professionals make better decisions for their companies and clients with unbiased expertise and balanced, comprehensive content. For more information, visit https://www.irmi.com.  

Media Contact: Heidi Vincent, (800) 827–4242