Profile
Charles W. Fortune
Personal Information
  • Address:
    18 Franklin Court South Unit D
    St Petersburg, FLORIDA 33711 United States
  • Cell:
    860 899 4812
  • Email:
Credentials
  • Attorney:
    Yes
  • Degrees:
    JD - University of Connecticut School of Law; BA - University of Rochester
  • Designations:
    Admitted to practice - Connecticut, U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut; U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
Work Experience
  • Insurance Company: 12 years.
    Underwriting Department: 3 years. Commercial Lines Underwriter
    Legal Department: 5 years. Senior Counsel - Reinsurance Claims
    Commercial Lines Systems:4 years. Project Manager - Commercial Lines Systems
  • Reinsurance Company: 1 years.
    Claim Department: 1 years. Secondment to Equitas Ltd.
  • Law Firm (Insurance/Reinsurance Practice): 26 years.
    Partner: 18 years. Commercial litigation
    Associate: 8 years. Commercial litigation, real estate
Breakdown of Experience
  • Asbestos
    20%
  • Environmental/Pollution
    15%
  • Commercial Liability
    10%
  • Contract Wording
    8%
  • Bad Faith/ECO
    6%
  • Product Liability
    5%
  • Insolvencies
    4%
  • Commercial Property
    4%
  • Excess/Surplus Lines
    3%
  • Captives/Risk Retention Groups
    3%
  • Commutations
    3%
  • Life
    2%
  • MGA/MGU
    2%
  • Directors &, Officers
    2%
  • Workers' Compensation
    2%
  • Professional Liability/Errors &, Omissions
    2%
  • Regulatory/Licensing
    2%
  • Catastrophes (Casualty)
    2%
  • Product/Consumer Warranties
    1%
  • Automobile Liability/Property
    1%
  • Personal Lines
    1%
  • Alternative/Self-Insurance/Risk Management
    1%
  • Intellectual Property
    1%
By Market
  • U.S. Market:
    75%
  • U.K. Market:
    23%
  • Bermuda/Off-shore Market:
    1%
  • Global Market:
    1%

Insurance vs. Reinsurance: 30/70%
Treaty vs. Facultative Reinsurance: 65/35%
Current Insurance or Reinsurance Company Officer

Mediation Experience
  • Number of Mediations
    As Counsel: 20
ARIAS Experience

Arbitrator Training Committee: 7 years

Workshops, as Faculty: 6; March 2009, November 2010, November 2011, September 2012, September 2014, September 2015

ARIAS Conference Faculty: 4; Spring 2005, Fall 2006, Spring 2010, Spring 2017

Arbitration Experience

Number of Arbitrations

As an Arbitrator: 1

As Outside Counsel: 90

Arbitrator Experience
Number of Arbitrations
1
Appointed as an arbitrator.
Lead Counsel Experience
Number of Arbitrations
44
Retained and Acted as Lead Counsel, up to, but not including, the organizational meeting or the arbitration has only reached this stage.
25
Acted as Lead Counsel through the organizational meeting or the arbitration has only reached this stage.
10
Acted as Lead Counsel through the organizational meeting or the arbitration has only reached this stage and the resolution of significant pre-hearing motions.
1
Acted as Lead Counsel through to an evidentiary hearing of at least one full day and less than three full days regarding the substantive merits of the parties' dispute.
6
Acted as Lead Counsel through to final award after completion of an evidentiary hearing of at least one full day and less than three full days regarding the substantive merits of the parties' dispute.
4
Acted as Lead Counsel through to final award after completion of an evidentiary hearing of at least three full days regarding the substantive merits of the parties' dispute.
Biography

Charles Fortune has worked in and with the insurance industry for thirty-five years. He began his career as a commercial lines underwriter with The Travelers, and then had a management role in the development of Travelers first commercial property-casualty policy rating and issuance system. Since attending law school, Charlie has represented insurance and reinsurance companies in a broad range of matters. Charlies experience includes work with property-casualty lines, intellectual property cover, workers compensation programs, warranty contracts, and D&O. He has advised clients and handled direct and reinsurance claims involving many different issues, including APH liabilities, captive facilities, insolvencies, sexual abuse, first-party property, and agency relationships.

While in private practice, Charlie was seconded for six months to Equitas Ltd., where he worked on North American reinsurance claims. Charlie now serves as captive counsel for Brandywine/Chubb where he focuses on reinsurance claim collection. He served in the past on the adjunct faculty at the University of Connecticut School of Law, in the LL.M in Insurance program, and was for many years involved with the continuing education program for ARIAS certified arbitrators.