Background
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.