Benjamin A Blume
Benjamin.Blume@kennedyslaw.com
+1 312 207 2110
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Profile
Education
- Loyola University Chicago School of Law, JD, 1989
- Knox College, BA (cum laude), 1985
Ben is a partner in the Chicago office and, for more than 25 years, he has represented insurers and reinsurers in every aspect of their business, including claim counseling, litigation and arbitration, premium disputes, policy drafting, and regulatory issues.
Ben has litigated many long-tail claims arising out of environmental contamination and exposure to asbestos and other toxic substances. He has extensive experience with a wide variety of issues under commercial, professional liability and personal lines policies, including primary, umbrella, excess, surplus lines, and reinsurance. He regularly represents and counsels clients with respect to bad faith, fraud, legal malpractice, spoliation of evidence, and other extra-contractual matters.
Ben also represents ceding and assuming companies in a variety of reinsurance disputes. His reinsurance practice includes representing excess of loss reinsurers written over self-insurers and self-insured pools, and representing and counseling clients with respect to disputes over asbestos and environmental claims.
Earlier in his career, Ben worked for two major international casualty insurers, which has given him an acute understanding of and a sensitivity to the business issues facing his clients.
He is currently an editor of the CGL Reporter, published by IRMI. Ben is also affiliated with the American Bar Association and Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel and frequently writes and speaks on emerging issues affecting the insurance industry.
Ben earned his law degree from Loyola University of Chicago, School of Law, in 1989, and a Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude with College Honors, from Knox College in 1985.
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Qualifications and admissions
- Illinois
- US District Court, Northern District of Illinois
- US District Court, Northern District of Indiana
- US District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin
- US Court of Appeals, Third and Seventh Circuits
- Supreme Court of Illinois
Work highlights
- Represented excess insurer in coverage action by United States Steel Corporation arising from claims that insured caused contamination in and near Lake Michigan.
- Represented excess insurer in coverage action arising from asbestos bodily injury claims in which the dispute was whether the insured had properly proved exhaustion of underlying insurance.
- Represented Excess Workers’ Compensation Insurer in lawsuit by state insurance department as rehabilitator of group insolvent self insurance fund alleging that client’s policy violated state law.
- Represented insurer in lawsuit against managing general underwriter in which client alleged that the MGU failed to ensure compliance with applicable state law.
Presentations and publications
- “Regulatory Roundup: An Update on the US Regulatory Issues and Reciprocal Reinsurer Laws,” In-House Client Training (September 2023)
- “North American Sexual Abuse Claims - Strategic Review,” In-House Client Training (April 2022)
- Author, “Insurers’ expanding exposure for bad faith failure to settle,” published for International Risk Management Institute, Inc. (October 2021)
- Co-author, “The latest challenge to Ohio’s allocation law,” published for Kennedys (March 2021)
- “Attorney-Client Privilege in the insurance setting: best practices,” In-House Client Training (January 2021)
- “Construction Defect Coverage,” In-House Client Training (September 2019)
Insurance and reinsurance