William C. Kolb
Partner
- New York
William (Bill) Kolb has over twenty-five years’ experience in counseling domestic and international insurers in connection with complex first-party property insurance coverage and other matters. He represents and advises insurers on first- and third-party matters involving commercial property, builder's risk, inland marine and marine, construction losses and defects, controlled insurance plans (CIPs), energy and utility losses, cyber risk, reinsurance and fraud. Bill has represented insurers in high-profile legal matters throughout the United States and abroad including complex, large-loss matters arising from Hurricanes Katrina, Ike, Isaac, Irene, Sandy, Maria, Irma and Harvey, among other natural and man-made catastrophes.
He has represented insurers and their insureds in connection with environmental liability, product liability, professional liability and industrial/construction accidents.
Bill provides comprehensive advice on the drafting of policy forms, claims handling and coverage disputes. He represents insurers in all aspects of litigation, including trials, arbitrations, appraisals and appeals. Bill has extensive experience with large property losses involving manufacturing, industrial processes, construction projects, equipment failure, utility and power, renewable energy, warehouses, hotels and entertainment facilities. He speaks at insurance industry events on coverage issues involving, among other issues, builder’s risk, renovation and rehabilitation, collapse coverage, industrial/manufacturing losses, civil authority, ingress/egress, business interruption, delay in completion, faulty workmanship and multiple perils.
Honors
- New York Super Lawyers, 2013 - 2023
Professional Associations
- New York County Lawyers Association, Insurance Committee, Member
- Loss Executives Association, Member
- Property & Liability Resource Bureau, Member
- Honorable Order of the Blue Goose, New York, NY, Member
publications & presentations
- When One Progressive Loss Ends and Another Begins, Law 360, January 20, 2017, Author.
- Common Issues in Business Interruption & Other Time Element Claims and Timeline & Delay Analysis in Time Element Claims, Western Loss Association’s Fall Conference, Delavan, Wisconsin, September 22, 2016, Moderator.
- Global Warming and Interstate Nuisance: U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Lawsuit For Injunctive Relief, mCWG newsletter, Winter 2011, Author.
- Federal Court Rules that Property Insurer May Depreciate Contractor Overhead and Profit and Sales Tax, MCWG Newsletter, Summer 2011, Author.
- New York's Enigmatic Scaffold Law: Deciphering the Elevation-Related Risk Requirement for Falls Protected by New York Labor Law §240(1), mealey's litigation report: employment law, June 2011, reprinted in MCWG newsletter, Summer 2011, Author.
- N.Y. Court of Appeals Clarifies Burden of Proof in Product Liability Actions, MCWG News Bulletin, June 2011, reprinted in MCWG Newsletter, Summer 2011, Author.
- U.S. Supreme Court Issues Landmark CERCLA Decision in Environmental Cleanup Action, MCWG News Bulletin, May 2009, Author.
- Reflections on Law and Cases Relating to Builder's Risk, mealey's construction defects report, April 2009, Author.
- The Stringfellow Acid Pits: The Supreme Court of California Rules on Insurers' Liability For Indivisible Property Damage Under 'Sudden and Accidental' And 'Absolute' Pollution Exclusions, mealey's pollution liability report, 2009, Author.
- Is Appraisal Sometimes Better Than Litigation? And Some Thoughts From Your Friendly Courts On Builder's Risk Coverage, mealey's insurance, July 2008, Author.
- Avian Flu: Assessing the Risk, Parts 1 and 2, riskvue, Nov. and Dec. 2006, Author.