The Think Tank

Dynamic, results-oriented, experienced mediator and arbitrator, highly accomplished in reaching cost-effective solutions in hundreds of complex reinsurance and insurance matters for twenty-eight years.

Historical

In the 1980s, Katherine served as Vice President and General Counsel to Universal Reinsurance Corporation and its affiliates. As a key part of the runoff team, she was primarily responsible for negotiating hundreds of millions of dollars in assumed, ceded and direct matters including legal and contractual issues, commutations, claims, audit issues, recoveries and letters of credit, as well as supervising litigation, arbitrations and mediations to successful resolution.

In 1990, Katherine started her own law firm and has represented numerous insurance and reinsurance companies (including those referenced above) in reinsurance arbitrations, insurance defense litigation and insurance coverage cases, including asbestos and environmental coverage matters. These cases have been extensively litigated, arbitrated and/or mediated over many years and involved negotiations of billions of dollars and coordination with dozens of counsel as well as numerous Federal Court Judges, trustees and class representatives.

Current

Since 2004, most of her professional work has been focused on providing mediation and arbitration services to the reinsurance and insurance industry. She has assisted numerous parties in reaching highly satisfactory, cost-efficient and sensible results. Additionally, she has provided reinsurance recovery services to the industry, and served as the Reinsurance Consultant to the Ohio Insurance Liquidation Office from 2004-2008.

Mediation Certifications

Katherine is a Certified Mediator and Arbitrator with ARIAS and received mediation training at JAMS in Washington D.C. as well as at Conflict Management Services in Columbus, Ohio. She is also a Certified Neutral with the American Arbitration Association (AAA) and a certified Arbitrator with AIRROC. Additionally, she has presented at many conferences since 2004 as a Mock Mediator including ARIAS, AIRROC, ABA Dispute Resolution Committee, Marcus Evans and the Illinois CPA Society ~ Insurance and Reinsurance Section. She has also presented numerous times on reinsurance arbitrations. She has published numerous articles on reinsurance mediation and arbitration.

Education

She received her Law Degree in 1982 from Stetson University College of Law. She is a licensed attorney in Florida and Ohio and authorized to practice in numerous federal courts. She earned her CPCU Certificate in 1989. She is a member of IAIR and has also served as Vice Chair of the ABA Excess, Surplus Lines and Reinsurance Committee.

Katherine is a Founder of ReMedi and serves as Chairperson of the Board and as Chief Executive Officer.

Paul is a recognized leader in alternative dispute resolution, having been appointed in over a hundred and sixty-five arbitrations and mediations in the U.S., the U.K., and Bermuda. Paul’s success in mediation derives from combining his experience in arbitration and as a seasoned negotiator to the issues separating two or more parties. He is currently the sole shareholder and principal of AzuRe Advisors, Inc., a consulting company dedicated to alternative dispute resolution, litigation advice and consulting on capital management issues for the insurance industry.

Paul started in the insurance business as a commercial property-casualty underwriting in 1976 and has held positions of increasing responsibility over the years, most recently as CEO of Converium Reinsurance (North America) and Converium Insurance (North America). Prior to assuming his responsibilities at Converium, Paul served as Managing Director of GIO Insurance Limited (Australia). His negotiation skills have been honed over the years through commutations generating collections of over $2 billion for the Transit Casualty Receiver and commutation programs which restored the balance sheet strength of GIO and Converium (North America).

Paul is a Certified Arbitrator and Certified Umpire by ARIAS-U.S. He is one of the first to have been elevated to General Member status of the American Board of Neutrals Association. Paul has been a member in good standing of the State Bar of California since 1979.

André Hassid has over 30 years experience in the practice of law representing plaintiffs and defendants, policy holders and insurers. He is a neutral who regularly serves as Judge Pro Tem for the Sacramento Superior Court. He serves on the Mediation Panels for the California Court of Appeals in the First and Third Appellate Districts.
He has served as an arbitrator in 15 cases and as mediator in over 70 cases. About 30 of these involved insurance coverage and insurance bad faith disputes. He has also served as a mediator in disputes involving trade secrets, construction defects, personal injury, wrongful termination, and business litigation. In addition, he has participated in approximately 100 mediations as an attorney. Mr. Hassid received professional mediation training and a certificate from the University of California, Berkeley extension (2003). He also received professional training in the Dana Curtis Mediation Program (2008).. He has substantial experience in the following areas:
• Insurance Coverage Disputes
• Bad Faith Litigation
• Workers Compensation Coverage and Bad Faith disputes.
• Directors and Officers Insurance
• Errors and Omissions Coverage
• Construction Defects Litigation
• Personal Injury
• Reinsurance Disputes
• Property Damage Claims
• Employer-Employee Litigation
• Subrogation Disputes
Mr. Hassid is certified as an Arbitrator and Mediator by ARIAS. He has handled several reinsurance disputes involving Lloyd’s of London, including litigated matters.
Mr. Hassid worked for Industrial Indemnity Company for 17 years. As Vice-President at Industrial Indemnity Company he managed its Coverage Law Department.
Mr. Hassid has extensive experience in appellate court matters, including published opinions in Bank of the West v. Superior Court (1992) 2 Cal.4th 1254; La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club v. Industrial Indemnity (1994) 9 Cal.4th 27; Ruiz v. Cabrera (2002) 98 Cal. App. 4th 1198 and Stephenson v. Argonaut Ins. Co. (2004) 125 Cal. App. 4th 962.
Juris Doctor 1975, University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law.
Bachelor of Arts in Political Science 1972, University of California at Berkeley.

Having mediated over 80 disputes (including more than 20 insurance & reinsurance disputes), Monin draws on problem solving skills developed as a government official, insurance business executive and practicing attorney.In addition to private mediations, Monin has mediated cases for the California Courts (appellate & trial) and the American Arbitration Association. He is a charter member of the Bay Area Mediation Society, a past chair of the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel’s ADR committee, and has served on the faculty of ARIAS mediation programs. His mediation training includes 45 hours of formal courses, as well as numerous short programs sponsored by the Mediation Society, the American Arbitration Association and others.

Monin’s insurance/reinsurance mediation experience encompasses a wide range of issues, including:

• Reinsurance Disputes: Recission & Fraud Claims; Loss Allocations; ECO; Catastrophic Reinsurance; Loss Aggregation
• Disputes Between Insurers: Primary/Excess; Environmental-Toxic Tort Allocations; Coverage
• Disputes Between Insurers/Reinsurers & Business Partners: MGAs; Agent/Broker-Insurer/Reinsurer; Business Disputes – Commissions/Profit Sharing/Termination
• Disputes Between Insurers & Policyholders: Bad Faith & Coverage; Retrospective Loss & Premium Disputes

• ARIAS certified arbitrator & umpire (27 arbitrations to hearing and decision as party appointed and 8 as umpire).
• Law firm partner (1994-2000): Specialized in insurance coverage & bad faith, regulatory law and reinsurance.
• Industrial Indemnity Company (1985-92) – SVP & General Counsel: Responsible for all legal and claims (including in-house coverage department and “ bad faith” litigation), government relations and corporate planning.
• Industrial Underwriters (1983-5) – SVP- Underwriting – Special Programs: Including property & liability MGA and “fronted” programs, workers compensation captives, finite risk and unbundled services.
• Chubb Insurance Group (1976-83) – Western Zone Manager and President of Pacific Indemnity Company: Profit center responsibility for Chubb’s entire West Coast operations (supervising 10 field offices and all lines of business).
• Insurance Financial Consultant (1975-6): Strategic advice re: insurance acquisitions and financially distressed companies; helped develop improved regulatory system for identifying financially troubled companies.
• New York State Insurance Department (1971-1975) – Deputy, First Deputy and Acting Superintendent of Insurance: Responsible for all solvency related functions (financial examinations, and regulatory interventions).
• Assistant Counsel to New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller (1969-71).

Monin is an honors graduate of the Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review, and, as a Knox Fellow, received an LLM from the London School of Economics and Political Science in London, England. His undergraduate work was in accounting at the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he graduated summa cum laude. He is a member of the Bar in both California and New York. His publications include a number of articles on complex insurance coverage, reinsurance, and alternative dispute resolution matters.