Teaming up with client leadership and its insurance broker and counsel, Ron, Ben, and Jared provided consulting services to NiSource Inc., a public utility, in connection with claims arising from gas explosions in the Merrimack Valley region of Massachusetts in September 2018. The explosions led to dozens of home fires, more than 20 injuries, and one fatality. The team was retained to assist the client with preparing and presenting its third- and first-party insurance claims to more than a dozen insurers, with total damages exceeding $1 billion.

Within days of the event, the team was onsite and working directly with NiSource employees in legal, finance, accounting, and supply chain departments as well as crisis response vendors hired to remediate and respond to the event. The team provided event-related expense tracking guidance, reviewed vendor contracts and invoices, tracked spending across the entire remediation project, and validated mutual aid and temporary housing expenses. Timeliness was crucial, as thousands of residents were placed in temporary housing while contractors worked to make it safe for them to return to their homes. There was a strong emphasis placed on ensuring all costs incurred were adequately described, billed accurately, and adhered to contract terms. The contract and invoice review analysis led to millions in savings for NiSource.

The team worked with NiSource to consistently provide dozens of insurers, their counsel, and their adjusters with regular project updates, cost submissions, and proofs of loss that led to NiSource recovering $800 million in liability insurance within roughly a year of the Merrimack Valley event. Additionally, the team worked with NiSource and counsel to prepare and present its first-party property insurance claim related to the replacement of over 40 miles of damaged pipeline. This claim was amicably resolved in early 2022.

Note: This work was performed prior to joining Stout.