John L. Van Kirk
11207 Lemon Orchard Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89135
(916) 296-2490
john@vankirkandblackburn.com
LinkedIn profile
Van Kirk Consulting, Independent Claim Consultant
As an Independent Consultant, I offer my clients 35+ years of experience handling casualty claims, with an emphasis on the management and resolution of high exposure bodily injury claims and complex litigated construction defect cases.
Professional Experience
Van Kirk & Blackburn Consulting, now Van Kirk Consulting, Las Vegas, Nevada
2004 – present
Independent Claim Consultant,
Provide consulting services to insurance carriers and other entities, to include investigation, attending mediations, MSCs, trials and other appearances as requested. Providing services in Nevada, California and others as may be requested.
Federated Insurance Company, Sacramento, California
1999 – 2004
Claims Supervisor
Handled Federated’s developer, general contractor (GC) and assorted subcontractor claims in Nevada and California.
- Formulated innovative case resolution tactics in answer to conflicts between plaintiffs, general contractors and their subcontractors.
- Handled additional insured issues from both the developer/GC and subcontractor perspectives.
- Extensive dealings with policy exhaustion and excess coverage issues.
Zurich U.S. Commercial, San Francisco, Foster City and Sacramento, California
1994-1999
Litigation Specialist
Handled cases involving litigated construction defect claims for nine western states (California, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Idaho and Washington), including multi-party lawsuits and subcontractor, general contractor, and property developer exposures. Handled litigation caseloads in auto, general liability and products liability. Worked for Zurich and Maryland as both an employee and independent contractor.
- Special liaison and designated adjustor for Macy’s Department stores, one of Zurich’s largest and most valued national accounts.
- Member of 1998 Litigation Management Team, which received the Excellence in Execution Litigation Claims award (#1 team in the country).
- Negotiated and collected over $1,000,000 from insureds representing their contributions to non-covered damages.
CNA Insurance Company, San Bruno, California
1984-1994
Claims Specialist
Handled a variety of commercial casualty claims, with an emphasis on litigated construction defect cases. Also facilitated the final disposition of high exposure bodily injury cases and cases headed for trial in specialized negotiations unit.
- Awarded for negotiating over $1,000,000 in structured settlements.
- Designated case manager for CNA’s largest national account, Waste Management.
- Developed and facilitated case law seminars and assembled coverage law desk reference materials while supervisor of the construction defect team.
Allstate Insurance Company, Daly City, California
1982-1984
Unit Supervisor / Claims Representative
Adjusted personal lines property and casualty claims. Supervised operations unit of nine employees.
Education & Affiliations
B.A., Marketing, University of Northern Iowa
Licensed in Nevada
Certified – California DOI Unfair Claims Practices Regulations
AINS 21