S2E9 - Meet the Team: Jeremiah Welch

In this special episode, we sit down with Jeremiah M. Welch, Managing Partner of SDV’s West Coast office, to discuss the growing partnership between Fenchurch Law and Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C. (SDV)—one of the leading U.S. firms dedicated exclusively to policyholder insurance coverage.

Jeremiah shares how our firms first connected, why the partnership felt “eerily aligned” from day one, and how cross‑jurisdiction collaboration is strengthening support for policyholders globally. He also reflects on his own path into coverage law, offers insights into Builders Risk, his military background and provides a U.S. perspective on Lloyd’s of London.

Throughout the conversation, we explore how international knowledge‑sharing can drive better outcomes for policyholders everywhere.

Transcript

Welcome And Quickfire Icebreakers

Dru 0:05

Hello and welcome to a special episode of the Policyholder Podcast. Today I'm delighted to be joined by managing partner of STV's West Coast office, Jeremiah Welsh. STV, which stands for SACS, Domeburger and Vita, is an American law firm with one mission to level the playing field for insurance policyholders. Like FenCurch Law, SDV has a singular focus on insurance coverage. For those that don't know, FenCurch Law and SDV have a best friends relationship. This relationship was formalized in April 2025 and involves cross-jurisdiction assistance, information sharing, and a shared common mission. A very warm welcome, Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 0:40

Good morning. Thank you for having me.

Dru 0:41

So I'm not sure if you've listened to previous episodes, but before we dive into the podcast, we always start with some quick fire questions. So, question one baseball or basketball?

Jeremiah 0:52

Basketball.

Dru 0:53

Tough question next because I know you're a Connecticut native living in California. East Coast or West Coast?

Jeremiah 0:59

West Coast.

Dru 1:00

And in a similar vein, New York or LA?

Jeremiah 1:04

New York.

Origins Of The Best Friends Alliance

Dru 1:05

Yeah, I'd agree with that one. And I know that you studied history at college. Is there a particular period of history which most interests you? I think probably World War II was my favorite. Yeah, no. Absolutely military history, puff. No, yeah, me too, actually. I did history at university as well. Anyway, Jeremiah, it's a real pleasure to have you on the pod and welcome back to the UK. We had the pleasure of meeting when you were last here in June, I believe. So I suppose the obvious first question to ask is how do we become best friends with our firms? Who who reached out to who? You know, I was thinking about that.

Jeremiah 1:36

Who who broke the ice first? I it might have been David Price, but we were certainly both thinking the same thing. We'd we'd run into each other, we'd seen each other's articles, uh, we'd certainly heard about what Fenchurch was doing in the space. And, you know, we started to think about wow, we are really aligned. And, you know, frankly, in my own head, I was sort of thinking, well, geez, if this ever doesn't work out, I'd know who I'd call. You know. They seemed to be just like us. But then, you know, we we got to talking and um we were both thinking the same thing. So it really two firms couldn't be more similar. No. And the fact that you were over here doing all of this uh without you know realizing that we were doing the same thing. I mean, it makes sense and it kind of to me points to the challenge, which is you know, that really shouldn't be. You know, how do we how do we network not just our own firms but globally?

Dru 2:31

And you hosted the UK managing partner, Joanna Grant, uh the firm senior partner David Price, who you've just been talking about, and the Scandinavian managing parts partner Morton Christensen in California in April. And actually, to your point, they came back so excited about the trip and they said it was almost freaky how aligned the two firms were. Almost down to the fact that we sort of both had the same catchphrase completely originally, as then it came came up. Um which is which is wild. So what what did you get up to in um in California with the with those senior leaders in that in April?

California Summit And Shark Story

Jeremiah 3:06

Well, so we had we had a business meeting before the we call it our summit, and we had a business meeting in our California office before that. We talked about working together, and you know, we each kind kind of did a presentation on you know who were who are we and what what we do, and it was again, you know, eerily similar how the presentations were and the things that we said. Um we had most of our partners there as well, and that was great. And then I ended up not being able to go to the summit because of a client mediation, but um, I hear it was very successful, and I caught up with the group afterwards. You know, we had lunch and hung out a little bit. It was good. It was it was um, you know, not only was there a professional camaraderie, but also just friends, you know, just natural friends.

Dru 3:50

Yeah, they they were gushing about how nice you all were when they came when they came back, which of course I obviously would concur. Um, but I have to ask, whose idea was it to go swimming with sharks?

Jeremiah 4:00

So, you know, that's Morton all the way. If Morton is at a party, that's the guy you want to hang around with. Uh he will have the good ideas. So I'll tell you, as a surfer in Southern California, swimming with Southern California sharks is something you don't really want to seek out. Um they're not the friendly kinds of sharks that one finds at the at the resorts. So I was struck that they were going to do that. And I think they ended up not being able to get into the water because the sharks that showed up were too big and too dangerous. So I said, okay, it's not surprising. Yeah. Did you think it would only be babies?

Dru 4:36

I mean, no, it was it was bizarre. We because the time difference is so great. We all just woke up on our on our Fen Church Law sort of team WhatsApp, and there was just videos of Morton in a wetsuit, and then a video of this terrifying looking shark, and we thought, what's going on here?

Jeremiah 4:52

Because I heard the story, I'm thinking to myself, is this just some fellow out there with a boat who says, Oh, I've got a good idea. Let's invite tourists to look at the sharks.

Dru 4:59

He is kind of magnetic, I think. If Morton has an idea, he manages to convince you that it's it's a brilliant one, even if it seems a bit bizarre.

Jeremiah 5:04

So I think they had a lot of fun, but uh they didn't go in the water as I understand it.

Dru 5:09

Okay. Well that's probably best for our best friendship. If Morton lost a leg, that wouldn't be great for Although we'd have a great story. Yeah, that's true. So looking at our sort of our our sort of best friendship, um what does that collaboration mean for clients, in your opinion?

Jeremiah 5:25

So I think for clients, a lot of our larger contractor clients are international already. And so having folks that we can refer them to when they need services outside the US, uh, you know, I think that's obvious. But I think for all of our clients, you know, particularly in Builders Risk, where we've had a lot of synergy together, so much of the market is created outside the U.S. Uh and much of the way insurance companies think about risk is outside is is um developed outside the U.S. I think there's an important theme for the for those clients in the U.S. to understand that the U.S. isn't a bubble and that the broker community in particular should understand how the risk is thought about and what are the arguments that are peep that people are making in courtrooms and what are claims adjusters saying and all of that to to better frame the results in the U.S. So that it isn't uh a place that you just periodically get crazy, unanticipated decisions that shake up the market. It should it should be you know sort of better understood and better managed, I think, globally.

Dru 6:34

Aaron Powell Yes. No, it's and also it's it's so international. I think I read somewhere that I think 50 percent, or maybe even north of 50 percent of premium that goes to come goes through Lloyd's has something to do with American American markets. Or maybe North America, of which obviously the lion's share is is from the States.

Jeremiah 6:52

Yeah, that doesn't surprise me, but um I think the U.S., you know, whether you call it arrogance or or obliviousness, it's there's a tendency to think of it as as a bubble. It doesn't matter what goes on outside the United States because it's the U.S. and everything goes on here, it's a very um centric viewpoint. I think that's no longer true. And I think that as the world economies become as connected as it is, the legal community and the policyholder community need to understand that as well, because there are tremendous advantages to that communication.

Dru 7:27

Yeah, and the information sharing between between our firms. No, I I I couldn't agree more. And so, but just taking a step back there, um And to talk talk a bit more about you personally. What or why, more why did you get into insurance coverage disputes? Because it's obviously quite a niche area of law. What what attracted you to it?

Global Markets And Lloyd’s Influence

Jeremiah 7:49

Well, I was scientific about it. I had I had been an insurance defense lawyer. I I was defending malpractice cases, I did that for 10, 11 years. But it wasn't I found it wasn't the sort of lawyer that I'd wanted to be. I wanted to have an intellectual practice, I wanted to use my brain, I wanted to solve problems. You know, I didn't just want to go in and put on a theatrical performance to a jury over and over again. I wanted to do something that involved case law, that involved um complexities, jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Uh to really become the kind of lawyer that I thought about in law school. And that so that when I decided to do something different, I started looking for a career that would solve those different needs. Um and I ran into Sachs, Dorn, Burger and Vita, uh I met Tracy, and I was hooked. I said, this is exactly what I had in mind. This blend of litigation, some trial work, but but mainly deep intellectual problem solving.

Dru 8:49

Yeah. Having to really think about it and look at it from all angles. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

Jeremiah 8:52

Create arguments uh and and also interact with a community of lawyers, not just focusing on one case in isolation.

Dru 9:00

Yeah. No, that that makes that makes total sense. And I understand that a lot of your practice is sort of construction related. So how did you carve out an expertise in that specifically?

Jeremiah 9:12

It wasn't deliberate. I think so, you know, our founding partner, Tracy Sachs, had had has always had a really strong and successful relationship with Turner Construction, and they're one of the largest uh construction firms. So there's a there was a natural you know, I I sort of grew up with that Turner relationship and being exposed to construction and risk management through through Turner. Um and I like many in the community, took those lessons out um and applied them elsewhere. So that has a lot to do with it. But I think also construction tends to face the same problems. Like there there tend to be lots of insurance-related incidents in construction, and so there's a need, uh, you know, perhaps unlike uh a large commercial operation that might have one insurance claim um every 10 years, insurance companies, you know, they're much more frequent than that.

Dru 10:07

Yeah, no, I I that's well that's unsurprisingly the same here. I think our only sort of repeat clients are big, big uh developers and stuff, because they they face I mean I think one of the partners here said that if you're a professional services firm and you see us twice, that's not you don't you don't want because I mean it's very rare that you'd have to decline c contentious claims in a short space of time. That would just be rotten luck. So you've had a a whirlwind week. You've just come from our Scandinavian coverage symposium symposium, sorry, in Copenhagen. What was that like? Um, had you been to Copenhagen before?

Jeremiah 10:43

First time I've ever been to Copenhagen. You know, and Morton was was gracious to invite us to that and let us participate. I really had no idea what to expect, but it was it was really amazing. Was it chilly? Uh it was it was chilly.

Dru 10:56

Yeah. So that's the Englishman and me coming out just talking about the weather at any opportunity.

Jeremiah’s Path To Coverage Law

Jeremiah 11:00

It wasn't bad though. I mean, it's you know, for a for a Californian, you you have these winter coats and these, you know, heavy shirts and you need a an excuse to bring them out. And did you give a you gave a talk there? I did, yeah. We talked about the like three case law, um, what it's done to the marketplace and so forth. And uh it was really good. And it was it was interesting to hear what the folks in Denmark are experiencing and that the issues that they're litigating there are very similar. Uh that's what to me the most fascinating piece of becoming, you know, a global insurance firm is is hearing you know, they may, you know, they talked a lot about in Denmark litigating over foreseeability. Okay, well that's that's maybe a slightly different name to a same problem that we deal with in the States all the time. Yeah. And so it's like, oh wow, you guys are actually living through the same things that we do in a completely different place. Again, look at the room for a collaboration.

Dru 11:56

Yeah, it's it's just it's I suppose it's just shining a light on it, which is which is hasn't yet really been done, and it's what's so exciting about this this collaboration and this friendship. And my next question is about something that you're going to do rather than something you've done, because you're scheduled to give a talk in the old library of Lloyd's of London, which is what do you reckon, 20, 25 yards away? Yeah, it's literally literally outside the window. So what's Lloyd's reputation like stateside?

Jeremiah 12:26

Depends on who you ask, I guess.

Dru 12:28

Yeah.

Building Construction Insurance Expertise

Jeremiah 12:28

I I d I wouldn't say anybody's got a poor reputation of it. I think policyholders nowadays, if if there's any negativity, it's about the idea that Lloyd's in construction at least will sort of come in for a while and then they'll leave for a while. It's and so they're they're thought of as being somewhat mercurial. Uh when I f when I first got into this, Lloyd's was very strong. They wrote a lot of construction in New York. New York's always been a challenged marketplace. And Lloyd's was very present, and some of the the older war horses in the community would say, ah, but they're they're not permanent. You know, they'll come in and they'll leave tomorrow. And so because I would look at them and say, look at the underwriting creativity, look at look at the way they can solve problems that domestic markets just simply can't do. And I was very excited about it. I would tell people, look, the CNS marketplace for us, which is the way Lloyd's participates, you know, look at all the way they can they can customize solutions, and isn't that great? And the older folks would say, I gone here today, gone tomorrow.

Dru 13:30

Yeah.

Jeremiah 13:31

And sure enough, there was a there was a you know shift in Lloyd's kind of pulled back from New York. Not without good cause. But, you know, and now they're coming back. So for me and for for the broker community, I think they they represent, you know, careful underwriting, creativity, problem solving, outs think being able to think outside the box. And I would tell you, too, I think that in the beginning, you know, 20 years ago or so, people would say, well, the big domestic carriers in the U.S., you can form a relationship with them. And Lloyd's isn't the same. I would argue today that that's flipped. I think that there are strong underwriting relationships in the States. But one of the biggest challenges we have over there is the number of big underwriters who have zero control over their claims side. Whereas I think, and and you're told frequently from some of the larger shops, I can't control I agree with you, but I can't control what my claims people do. Whereas in London, you can have a direct conversation.

Dru 14:29

Yes, definitely.

Jeremiah 14:30

And they can all talk together and you can get back to the idea of intent. And I think over the course of my career, I tend to think that's actually more valuable is to be able to have that conversation to reach a solution on something and not have to just litigate it.

Dru 14:44

Yeah, be commercial.

Copenhagen Symposium Insights

Jeremiah 14:45

Right, right. And you know, we'll get into this when we talk about leg three later today over at uh the conference. But I think the the tendency of US carriers to lawyer up and rely more on some of these sort of you know canned arguments and not have these conversations is a bad idea. And that some of the decisions that I think have really stung the marketplace in the result of that inability to have those conversations. Yeah.

Dru 15:13

And seemingly sort of bad for everyone.

unknown 15:15

Trevor Burrus, Jr.

Jeremiah 15:15

Bad for everyone. And I think you know, there's a lesson to be learned from Lloyd's and and you know, non-domestic carriers, let's say.

Dru 15:24

And penultimate question. I read that you're a veteran of the U.S. Army, and it's a question about how your military experience has shaped, if if at all, your approach to leadership and problem solving, given your role as managing partner of the West Coast of STV.

Jeremiah 15:42

It's funny because from time to time, you know, again, our senior partner Tracy will say, Well, that's the soldier in you. That's the you know, the very direct approach, you know, one plus one equals two. For me, it was so I I went into the Army right out of high school. It was the way to get to college, you know, to the go in and get the college fund. You know, so I think I enlisted when I was 17. And so formative years for sure. Yeah.

Dru 16:04

Um, that's young, isn't it?

Jeremiah 16:06

It is, it is, it is. And everything that you read now as a parent will tell you that your kids, all their brains are still forming into their late twenties, and you think, oh my god, I've screwed up my kids hopelessly. But um if uh if any of that's true, then I suppose those were very important years. And yeah, I think so. I think that, for example, controversial perhaps, but when COVID struck, I think I think I stayed home for a couple of weeks and then I was back in the office. Uh and I was very passionate about the idea that you know we should stare a problem in the face and fight back, not not just sort of give up and fade away. And that was the military background. That was uh and maybe a sprinkling of World War II history as well. But this is this is what you do in the face of a challenge. You fight back.

Lloyd’s Reputation And Market Cycles

Dru 16:54

Yeah, no, interesting. That's I I yeah, I think that's that sort of resilience and uh order. I've I've a lot of um family who've been in the British Army, and there's always that sort of consistency, I think, of no nonsense, perhaps is one way, one way to describe it. Right. Um Jeremy, I've I thoroughly enjoyed chatting to you. I have one final question, which is to pick your brain a bit. So, what would a departing top tip for non-consumer policyholders to avoid coverage crack coverage gaps, I'm sorry, across their insurance policies, apart from perhaps get a better broker?

Jeremiah 17:29

So that would have been my answer had you not to get a better broker because that I don't know.

Dru 17:33

Because it's not really their job, I suppose. I mean, it's the broker's job, not the policyholder's job, especially in a big non-consumer context.

Jeremiah 17:39

Aaron Powell Yeah, I mean, that is always going to be your best defense, is is the good broker. And, you know, certainly one has to think about um what environment does my broker live in? What kinds of resources do they have? What kind of training and education is surrounds them? Are they, you know, a shop with two people on a street corner, or are they a large organization that you know spans the globe? Um I think you know, if we're talking about the sorts of clients we represent, you need that. And the bigger one you mean. Yeah, yeah. I mean you need you need that that resource. Um and certainly look, a small shop can do very well, especially if the small shop is made up of folks that just left a big house. That could be great. Yeah. Um but you you really, you know, you it depends on the individual person that's going to handle your account.

Dru 18:27

Yeah, because they need to intimately understand your business and they need to care. So that's my one I understand about the resources and the expertise in a big shop, but perhaps I was thinking, can it become a little bit impersonal if if it's a huge, if it's a sort of, I don't want to name names, but you as a huge American brokers, you might think, how much does that one person care about my business because they've probably part of a team of X and they're looking after Y amount of clients?

Jeremiah 18:53

Well, maybe that's the answer to the question, then, is really what you need to do is not let that happen. I think you need to not let the large brokerage become impersonal. It's a place you can go to find some very good people. You've just got to get them. And I always say to people when you're doing one of these, you know, BORs, you you've you've got to you've got to really meet the people you're gonna work with. And you've got to, if you're dealing with a larger shop, you've got to say, I don't want to meet the salespeople.

Dru 19:18

Yeah.

Jeremiah 19:19

I want to meet the people that I'm gonna be working with every day. And who are they and how do I know that I'm gonna be consistently able to access those people? And how do those people access resources within the brokerage? Do they, you know, are they disincentivized? Are they incentivized? Does it matter? How does all that work behind the scenes? Because I mean, in in terms of placing the policies, you know, are they just pulling a form off the shelf? Are they pushing a relationship but not really paying much attention to the coverage? Are you sort of lost in a world of, you know, hundreds of clients with similar needs and you know, are you getting individualized attention? Um that's really the trick of it. I mean, certainly you can hire somebody like us to go through your policy, but I don't think an insured should have to do that.

Dru 19:59

No, I agree.

Claims Culture, Dialogue, And Litigation

Jeremiah 20:00

Yeah. I mean they should be able to rely on. And of course, there are gaps that nobody's gonna be able to do anything about. Well, just you've got to do the best you can, and that's about getting the resources in the right place.

Dru 20:11

No, I think that's that's eminently sensible. And um apologies for answering my own question as it as it came out. Jura, thank you so much for coming on. It's it's really great to to um interview you and very much looking forward to Defense Church Lawrence TV working together going forward. And finally, very good luck in the various talks and presentations you're giving in the next couple of days. Thank you very much. Thank you for having me.