R. Wade Vandiver, J.D., ACP
Resolution Professional, Claims Handling Consultant, Educator
Wade Vandiver has over 20 years of experience in insurance claims and litigation. After more than eight years of providing large, medium, and small insurance carriers with legal advice regarding coverage and extra-contractual exposure for various lines of business, Wade moved in-house for a Bermuda-based insurance group and designed a program to assist its various P&C carriers in eliminating and/or mitigating extra-contractual exposure. As part of this program, Wade developed and presented the only insurer annual Good Faith Claims Training Program for all claims personnel and a companion Good Faith File Management Training Program to all underwriting personnel, intended to improve the claims process and its outcomes.
Wade managed thousands of property and casualty extra-contractual claims during his 11-year tenure, and reviewed thousands more, in most if not all of the 50 states, and some off-shore, with exposures into the hundreds of millions of dollars. This unique role required that Wade partner with coverage and extra-contractual counsel across the country to understand and analyze the various claims handling standards and laws, and their differences, and provide the various carriers with recommendations for creative resolutions. Having experience both as outside and in-house counsel provides Wade with the specialized perspective to facilitate a resolution for insurance coverage matters, evaluate claims handling, and make recommendations to both insurers and policyholders.
Wade is a frequent guest speaker and presenter at various legal and industry events across the country. Wade currently serves as a member of the DRI Advisory Board and CLM Extra-Contractual Committee and is a Vice-Chair of the ABA TIPS Insurance Law Committee and the Membership Chair for the Texas State Bar Insurance Council.
Education
B.A. Political Science; Economics Minor
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, Texas
J.D.
South Texas College of Law
Houston, Texas
Summa Cum Laude
Industry/Professional Memberships
State Bar of Texas
2002—present
Insurance Law Council: 2019—present
Insurance Law Committee Membership Chair: 2021—present
Defense Research Institute, Inc.
Member 2012—present
Advisory Board, 2017—present
American Bar Association
Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section
Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee Vice-Chair
Claims and Litigation Management Alliance
Fellow, 2011—2021
Extra-Contractual Committee, 2011—2021
Insurance Bad Faith & Coverage Mini-Conference
Planning Committee, 2012
2013 Inaugural Claims College--Philadelphia
Faculty, School of Claims Management
2016-2017 Claims College
Co-Dean, School of Extra-Contractual Claims
2018-2020 Claims College
Executive Council, School of Extra-Contractual Claims
Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel
Member, 2019—present
Property Casualty Insurers Association of America
Legal Subcommittee, 2016—2021
Amicus review
International Association of Defense Counsel
Member, 2016—2017
The International Legal Honor Society of Phi Delta Phi
Member, 1999—2018
Magister, Wood Inn, South Texas College of Law, 2001-2002
Former Assistant Province President, Province 22
Former Province President, Province 22
Lifetime Member
American Inns of Court
William S. Sessions American Inn of Court
San Antonio, Texas, 2015—2020
South Texas College of Law
Adjunct Professor of Advocacy
2006—2010
Continuing Education Offered
Good Faith Claims Training
Argo Group US, Inc., 2011-2021
Reported Decisions
Harold E. (“Gene”) Wright, Don Kennard, Pat S. Holloway, and Pat S. Holloway, P.C. v. Michael Sydow and Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson & Hand, Chartered
173 S.W.3d 534 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2004, pet. denied
CenterPoint Energy, Inc., CenterPoint Energy Resources Corp. f/k/a Reliant Energy Resources Corp., Entex Gas Marketing Company, CenterPoint Energy Field Services, Inc., and CenterPoint Energy Pipeline Services, Inc. v. Miller County Circuit Court, 2nd Division, The Honorable Jim Hudson, Circuit Judge, Presiding, Weldon Johnson, and Angela Sullivan Engledowl
258 S.W.3d 336 (Ark. 2007)
CenterPoint Energy, Inc., CenterPoint Energy Resources Corp., Entex Gas Marketing Company, CenterPoint Energy Field Services, Inc., and CenterPoint Energy Pipeline Services, Inc. v. Miller County Circuit Court, The Honorable James Scott Hudson, Jr., Weldon Johnson, and Angela Sullivan Engledowl
276 S.W.3d 231 (Ark. 2008)
Awards/Recognition
The International Legal Honor Society of Phi Delta Phi
Province President of the Year, 2009
Speaking Engagements/Presentations
2012 Claims and Litigation Management Alliance
Insurance Bad Faith & Coverage Mini-Conference--Boston
“Bearing Witness: Navigating the Bad Faith Minefield During Trial”
2013 Claims and Litigation Management Alliance
Annual Conference---San Antonio
“Winning (and Losing)—Why Companies Change Defense Firms And How You can “Wow” the Company to Get on the List”
April 2013
2013 Claims and Litigation Management Alliance
Inaugural Claims College--Philadelphia
“Claims Management”
2013 American Conference Institute
Bad Faith Litigation--Miami
“Insurers In-House Roundtable: Counsel and Claims Professionals Speak Out on New & Emerging Issues in Bad Faith Claims”
November 2013
2014 Claims and Litigation Management Alliance
Annual Conference—Boca Raton
“Pennywise & Pound Foolish—Breaking the Insurance Defense Model of Case Development by Frontloading Defense Costs to Resolve Claims Earlier”
April 2014
2014 Claims and Litigation Management Alliance
Insurance Bad Faith & Coverage Conference—New York
“Defending and Defeating Punitive Damages in Extra-Contractual Litigation”
December 2014
2015 Claims and Litigation Management Alliance
Annual Conference—Palm Desert
“Litigation Management: Factors to Consider Before Sending in Your RSVP to the Joint Defense Agreement Party”
March 2015
2015 American Bar Association
Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section Conference—Philadelphia
“Unraveling the Duty to Defend, Reservation of Rights, and Related Coverage Disputes”
April 2015
2015 Claims and Litigation Management Alliance
New York Conference—Extra-Contractual
“Why Can't We All Just Get Along?: Bad Faith in Excess Policy Claims”
December 2015
2016 Claims and Litigation Management Alliance
Claims College--Baltimore
“Third-Party Extra-Contractual Claims”
September 2016
2017 Defense Research Institute, Inc.
Bad Faith & Extra-Contractual Liability Seminar—Boston
“Money for Nothing—Bad Faith Claims Involving Deductibles, Retentions, Eroding Limits, and Non-Traditional Policies”
2019 Claims and Litigation Management Alliance
New York Conference—Extra-Contractual
“Extra-Contractual Year-In Review”
2021 FDCC
Corporate Counsel Symposium
“What the Post-Covid Workplace is Going to Look Like”
2021 The Defense Never Rests
“Corporate Depositions: Tips from a Claims Professional”
2021 Texas State Bar
Advanced Insurance Law Course
“Construction Update”
2021 CLM Focus: Cyber Liability, Extra-Contractual, Insurance Coverage, Claims & Litigation Management
“Extra-Contractual Year-In Review: Part 2”
Articles: Co-Author, “Judge, We're Not Offering Testimony on the Law! Use of Experts in Extra-Contractual Litigation”
Litigation Management Magazine, Summer 2015