Stephen Serfass

Stephen A. Serfass leads more than 50 attorneys as chair of the firm’s Insurance Litigation Group. Steve concentrates his practice on financial services issues, principally related to long-term care insurance, life insurance and environmental insurance.

He also has significant experience resolving privacy and security compliance and breach issues related to personally identifiable health and financial information.

Steve is nationally recognized as a leader in the long-term care insurance community and, in addition to his practice group leadership role, is the founder and co-leader of Drinker Biddle’s 20-lawyer long-term care insurance team.

In that arena, Steve’s work spans the product life cycle from cradle to grave. Steve’s insurance industry practice includes representation of domestic and international insurance companies in business, claims and coverage litigation. He also has experience representing managing general agents in a variety of contexts.

Experience :

Long-Term Care Insurance : Steve leads the firm’s Long-Term Care Insurance Team and represents insurers on a wide range of issues including class action and individual litigation, regulatory compliance, product development and policy drafting, fraud prevention, rate increases, privacy and security, and other matters.

• Led a team in an enterprise-wide compliance audit for a long-term care insurer, which included the provision of a report bench-marking the current compliance function and a road map of specific action items for an improved compliance function.
• Assisted long-term care insurers in resolving complicated issues related to premium rate increases, care provider licensing and many other coverage issues.
• Assisted carriers with antifraud issues including developing antifraud programs, providing related training and litigating against those who perpetrate fraud.

Life Insurance : Steve represents a wide range of life insurers in litigation and compliance matters. Steve serves as national counsel for a number of major life insurers on certain issues, including stranger-originated life insurance disputes.

He has worked as national counsel for one life insurer on a flat-fee basis, handling all individual life insurance litigation around the country. Steve is a member of the Association of Life Insurance Counsel.

Environmental Insurance and Liability Transfer Transactions : Steve represents environmental contractors, developers and owners of contaminated property in negotiating fixed price remediation contracts, environmental liability transfer agreements and the placement of related cost cap/remediation stop loss, and pollution liability insurance policies. In private practice, Steve has negotiated in the range of 100 cost-cap and PLL policies.

Education :

• Rutgers University School of Law – Camden, J.D., 1996, Rutgers Law Review
• Pennsylvania State University, B.S., 1991

Bar Admissions : Pennsylvania

Court Admissions :

• U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
• U.S. District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit