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Today is the first part of our conversation with Claims Expert Kevin Quinley. Mr. Quinley is the principal of Quinley Risk Associates based in Richmond, Virginia.  He has been involved in the claims industry for 40 years with experience in claims management and litigation management. He is known for his presentation skills, having given over 300 presentations at insurance, risk management and legal conferences. To learn more about Mr. Quinley, be sure to visit his website at www.kevinquinley.com

Learn more about our services at Auten Claims and gain insights from CMR Consulting by visiting CMR Consulting. Additionally, don't miss out on Chantal’s insightful book, Art of Adjusting®, available now.

For more insights, you might consider a career in liability adjusting or if you're searching for reliable adjusting services, visit Auten Claims Management.

To explore more about Chantal Roberts and her contributions to the industry, visit CMR Consulting.

Promotions:

• Once Upon a Claim: Explore the magical world of claims adjusting through fairy tales. Get your copy now.
• The Art of Adjusting®: Master the art of claims adjusting with practical insights and expert advice. Purchase here.

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Today we’ll be talking with Barry Zalma and Chantal Roberts. Barry Zalma is an internationally recognized expert on insurance, claims, handling insurance, coverage, insurance fraud, and insurance bad faith. He has more than 53 years of practical insurance claims experience as a claims person and insurance coverage lawyer to serve those facing an insurance claim or coverage dispute.

Barry has a plethora of learning opportunities for adjusters, such as daily blogs on LinkedIn, Insurance 101 video training, and several books. You can find him on www.zalma.com

Learn more about our services at Auten Claims and gain insights from CMR Consulting by visiting CMR Consulting. Additionally, don't miss out on Chantal’s insightful book, Art of Adjusting®, available now.

Our other guest today, Chantal Roberts, is the author of The Art of Adjusting, Writing Down the Unwritten Rules of Claims Handling. Chantal's background also includes educating claims departments and overseeing adjuster training. She routinely speaks at continuing legal education credit events and universities, discussing claim handling practices, standards, and procedures. To find out more about Chantal visit www.theartofadjusting.com.

For more insights, you might consider a career in liability adjusting or if you're searching for reliable adjusting services, visit Auten Claims Management.

To explore more about Chantal Roberts and her contributions to the industry, visit CMR Consulting.

Promotions:

• Once Upon a Claim: Explore the magical world of claims adjusting through fairy tales. Get your copy now.
• The Art of Adjusting®: Master the art of claims adjusting with practical insights and expert advice. Purchase here.

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Today is story time.
We’re talking about a farmer, two carpenters, and a bull—and how that unusual mix ties directly into how New York handles injuries caused by domestic animals. This episode walks through the history behind the “one-bite rule,” how Bard v. Jahnke shaped the law for two decades, and why these principles mattered so much for dog bite claims.

Important Update:
Since this podcast was originally recorded, the New York Court of Appeals issued a major decision—Flanders v. Goodfellow (2025)—which changed the legal framework for these cases.

While Bard once barred negligence claims entirely, Flanders overruled that limitation. New York now recognizes two distinct theories of liability when someone is injured by a domestic animal:

1. Strict Liability – based on the owner’s actual or constructive knowledge of a vicious propensity.
2. Negligence – based on a failure to exercise reasonable care, even without a known vicious propensity.

This episode still offers valuable context, because it explains how the old framework was built. But keep this updated legal landscape in mind as you listen.

Referenced Cases

• Bard v. Jahnke – The original “no negligence” rule for domestic animals.
• Collier v. Zambito – The modern definition of “vicious propensity” under strict liability.
• Flanders v. Goodfellow (2025) – The decision that restored negligence as a viable cause of action in New York for animal-related injuries.

Learn More

• Auten Claims Management – Liability investigations done the right way.
• CMR Consulting – Industry-focused training and thought leadership from Chantal Roberts.
• Art of Adjusting® – Chantal’s essential book for adjusters who want to elevate their craft.

Stay Connected

If you enjoy the show, hit subscribe, and share it with your adjuster friends.
If you're exploring a career in liability adjusting—or you need reliable investigation services—visit Auten Claims Management for more information.

For more about Chantal Roberts and her work in the industry, visit CMR Consulting.

For more insights, you might consider a career in liability adjusting or if you're searching for reliable adjusting services, visit Auten Claims Management.

To explore more about Chantal Roberts and her contributions to the industry, visit CMR Consulting.

Promotions:

• Once Upon a Claim: Explore the magical world of claims adjusting through fairy tales. Get your copy now.
• The Art of Adjusting®: Master the art of claims adjusting with practical insights and expert advice. Purchase here.

Send us Fan Mail

One of the most common complaints I get from new or aspiring adjusters is that every time they look at a job listing, it says they need experience. This is common, even for entry-level jobs! Many job postings also state that a Bachelor’s degree is required. So, how do you overcome these challenges if you don’t have any job experience as a claims adjuster or if you don’t have a Bachelor’s degree? That is what we will talk about today!

Learn more about our services at Auten Claims and gain insights from CMR Consulting by visiting CMR Consulting. Additionally, don't miss out on Chantal’s insightful book, Art of Adjusting®, available now.

Don’t forget to hit that subscribe button quickly, and tell all of your adjuster friends to check this out.

For more insights, you might consider a career in liability adjusting or if you're searching for reliable adjusting services, visit Auten Claims Management.

To explore more about Chantal Roberts and her contributions to the industry, visit CMR Consulting.

Promotions:

• Once Upon a Claim: Explore the magical world of claims adjusting through fairy tales. Get your copy now.
• The Art of Adjusting®: Master the art of claims adjusting with practical insights and expert advice. Purchase here.

Send us Fan Mail

Today's episode focuses on two of the most common questions from social media regarding how to become an adjuster. The first question is “Where do I start?” and the second is “How can I find a mentor?”

Learn more about our services at Auten Claims and gain insights from CMR Consulting by visiting CMR Consulting. Additionally, don't miss out on Chantal’s insightful book, Art of Adjusting®, available now.

We’ll address both of those questions here and compare the following careers to that of a claims adjuster:

• Construction 
• Law enforcement 
• Nursing
• Paralegal
• Notary
• Writers
• News/Media 
• Photography 
• Accounting 
• Automobile repair 
• Agriculture
• Heavy equipment
• Aviation
• Real Estate
• Home inspectors

We’ll also cover licensing, and the fact that NY is reciprocal with the following states:

• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• Georgia
• Idaho
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Montana
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Mexico
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• Texas
• Utah
• Vermont
• West Virginia

For more insights, you might consider a career in liability adjusting or if you're searching for reliable adjusting services, visit Auten Claims Management.

To explore more about Chantal Roberts and her contributions to the industry, visit CMR Consulting.

Promotions:

• Once Upon a Claim: Explore the magical world of claims adjusting through fairy tales. Get your copy now.
• The Art of Adjusting®: Master the art of claims adjusting with practical insights and expert advice. Purchase here.

Send us Fan Mail

Here is another episode covering all lines of insurance. We talk with claims expert and educator Chantal Roberts, author of The Art of Adjusting. This recording was derived from our Clubhouse episode on July 12, 2022, where we discussed all things related to waiver, estoppel, non-waiver agreements, and reservation of rights letters (RORs)

Learn more about our services at Auten Claims and gain insights from CMR Consulting by visiting CMR Consulting. Additionally, don't miss out on Chantal’s insightful book, Art of Adjusting®, available now.

Check out Chantal Roberts at www.theartofadjusting.com.

For more insights, you might consider a career in liability adjusting or if you're searching for reliable adjusting services, visit Auten Claims Management.

To explore more about Chantal Roberts and her contributions to the industry, visit CMR Consulting.

Promotions:

• Once Upon a Claim: Explore the magical world of claims adjusting through fairy tales. Get your copy now.
• The Art of Adjusting®: Master the art of claims adjusting with practical insights and expert advice. Purchase here.

Send us Fan Mail

We’ll call this episode topic an “All-Lines” subject. Today we’ll talk about mentorship in the claims business. Whether you are a new or an experienced adjuster, you might know something that the person sitting next to you does not yet.

Learn more about our services at Auten Claims and gain insights from CMR Consulting by visiting CMR Consulting. Additionally, don't miss out on Chantal’s insightful book, Art of Adjusting®, available now.

Watch for times where someone might need your help, and if you can, and if appropriate, see if you can lend them a hand and show them the way. Having been on the receiving end of such help throughout my career has taught me the best lesson of all: to pay it forward. 

For more insights, you might consider a career in liability adjusting or if you're searching for reliable adjusting services, visit Auten Claims Management.

To explore more about Chantal Roberts and her contributions to the industry, visit CMR Consulting.

Promotions:

• Once Upon a Claim: Explore the magical world of claims adjusting through fairy tales. Get your copy now.
• The Art of Adjusting®: Master the art of claims adjusting with practical insights and expert advice. Purchase here.

Send us Fan Mail

Today's episode is property claims and more specifically we talk about Xactimate. This estimating platform is often compared to Simsol and Symbility, and many building estimating gurus feel that Xactimate is not appropriate for certain complex losses.

Learn more about our services at Auten Claims and gain insights from CMR Consulting by visiting CMR Consulting. Additionally, don't miss out on Chantal’s insightful book, Art of Adjusting®, available now.

We'll push back on this today and discuss how to use Xactimate for complex losses with specialty trades or materials, even when there are no line items within the system to use.

Hit that subscribe button real quick, and tell all of your adjuster friends to check this out as well.

For more insights, you might consider a career in liability adjusting or if you're searching for reliable adjusting services, visit Auten Claims Management.

To explore more about Chantal Roberts and her contributions to the industry, visit CMR Consulting.

Promotions:

• Once Upon a Claim: Explore the magical world of claims adjusting through fairy tales. Get your copy now.
• The Art of Adjusting®: Master the art of claims adjusting with practical insights and expert advice. Purchase here.

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode, you will hear our hot take on recent news stories about workers’ compensation insurance. The first one is a proposed New York state law causing a bit of a dust-up in Albany. The proposed legislation provides additional benefits for milder injuries and makes an injured worker's ability to seek additional benefits easier.

Learn more about our services at Auten Claims and gain insights from CMR Consulting by visiting CMR Consulting. Additionally, don't miss out on Chantal’s insightful book, Art of Adjusting®, available now.

The second story will be about COVID 19 and workers’ compensation. When an employee gets COVID-19, it can be tough to prove that they got it at work; almost impossible. However, it's also impossible to prove that they didn't. We’ll talk about how state laws are addressing this conundrum.

We will also talk about intergovernmental immunity and how that relates to a decommissioned nuclear facility near the Columbia River in Washington State.

Finally, we'll wrap it up with the Supreme court's take on medical cannabis for workers’ compensation claims and what they did (or didn’t do) to address the issue.

Hit that subscribe button real quick, and tell all of your adjuster friends to check this out as well.

For more insights, you might consider a career in liability adjusting or if you're searching for reliable adjusting services, visit Auten Claims Management.

To explore more about Chantal Roberts and her contributions to the industry, visit CMR Consulting.

Promotions:

• Once Upon a Claim: Explore the magical world of claims adjusting through fairy tales. Get your copy now.
• The Art of Adjusting®: Master the art of claims adjusting with practical insights and expert advice. Purchase here.

Send us Fan Mail

Centralized claims operations are commonplace in today's insurance market. Insurance carriers tend to utilize independent agencies. These independent agencies are strewn across a large geographical area. Most often, this area is larger than the insurance company can staff. Since independent agents are covering this immense territory, it only makes sense that independent adjusters should also be able to assist with claims across this territory.

Learn more about our services at Auten Claims and gain insights from CMR Consulting by visiting CMR Consulting. Additionally, don't miss out on Chantal’s insightful book, Art of Adjusting®, available now.

In this episode, we talk about the advantages of using independent adjusters to ensure that you have feet on the ground at the side of the incident to obtain all of the vital information needed to make an accurate decision regarding your liability claims.

Hit that subscribe button real quick, and tell all of your adjuster friends to check this out as well.

For more insights, you might consider a career in liability adjusting or if you're searching for reliable adjusting services, visit Auten Claims Management.

To explore more about Chantal Roberts and her contributions to the industry, visit CMR Consulting.

Promotions:

• Once Upon a Claim: Explore the magical world of claims adjusting through fairy tales. Get your copy now.
• The Art of Adjusting®: Master the art of claims adjusting with practical insights and expert advice. Purchase here.