Module 2: Commercial General Liability Insurance Overview (CE-Eligible)

Vincent “Chip” Boylan, CPCU, ARM, RPLU, has over 45 years of experience as an agent/broker most recently as Senior Vice President of Willis of Maryland, a subsidiary of Willis Towers Watson (retired in 2017).  During his career he has held positions as a producer, account executive, commercial lines team leader, agency owner and expert witness.  He has designed and led insurance presentations and courses for insurance and bar associations and has taught numerous commercial and personal lines CPCU courses. Mr. Boylan has been an active member of the CPCU Society serving as the District of Columbia Chapter President and Chairman of the Society’s Coverage, Litigators, Educators and Witnesses (CLEW) Interest Group. His other volunteer activities include serving as a Board Member and Chairman of the Insurance Agents & Brokers (IA&B) of Maryland and as a facilitator with the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers Insurance Professional School.  Mr. Boylan currently works as an expert witness and has had over 50 witness engagements largely involving agent and broker standard of care issues. 

Ellen A. McCarthy, JD, CPCU, RPLU, is Legal Counsel and Vice President for Swiss Re Corporate Solutions. Prior to her current role, Ellen was the Senior Product Underwriter and Risk Management Leader for the Lawyer's Professional Liability program.  Ellen has also served as a claims expert and claims team leader adjudicating complex legal malpractice and insurance agent E&O claims across the US, and as an underwriter for the LPL program. Ellen is a licensed Maryland attorney and former associate at an insurance defense firm in suburban Washington, DC as well as a judicial law clerk. Ellen is a graduate of McDaniel College and University of Baltimore School of Law. 

James P. McNally, RPLU+, is a Managing Director, Treaty Reinsurance Underwriter, joining the Specialty Casualty team at Navigators Reinsurance, A Brand of The Hartford, in September 2021. His portfolio focuses on commercial Casualty and Professional lines of business across numerous industries. Prior to joining Navigators Re, James’ industry experience includes ten years at The Toa Reinsurance Company, most recently as a Vice President, writing similar lines. James graduated Franklin and Marshall College with a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Mathematics, and holds a master’s in business administration degree, with a concentration in Finance, from Lehigh University. His earned professional designations include CPCU, RPLU+, ARM, ARe.

John J. Pacitti Sr., RPLU+, has been in the industry for 33 years. In 1990, he started his career as an endorsement clerk with a niche market that concentrated exclusively on lumber related products. In 2000, as an underwriting assistant, John shifted toward a heavy professional liability focus on both medical and non-medical related business. Over the next ten years, John continued underwriting but began working in product development resulting in startup products in the Allied Health segment for several companies. Currently, Mr. Pacitti is Vice President of Underwriting at VGM Insurance. He manages the underwriting operations for all products and lines of business.

James Sheldon, Esq., RPLU, is an Assistant Vice President for Corporate Underwriting with Arch Insurance Group (Arch). He has been part of the Product Development Department for the past 5 years and has more than 20 years of insurance industry experience in underwriting, compliance and product development. He is actively involved with the business units he supports in designing coverage that reflects their underwriting intent as well as helping underwriters and claims examiners with coverage questions. Mr. Sheldon holds a J.D. from the Maurer School of Law at Indiana University (1991) and a B.A. from the University of Rochester (1988).  He has also earned the RPLU.

Steve Smith, CPCU, AIM, RPLU, serves as the National Program Director for the Social Services, Hospice and Home Health Care commercial insurance programs at The Cincinnati Insurance Companies.  Steve has been in the insurance industry for over 25 years and is also a licensed insurance agent.  Steve’s expertise includes commercial auto, property, general liability and professional liability.  He spends time staying on top of trends and changes within the social service and healthcare industries and delivering frequent presentations on a variety of topics including risk management and cyber liability.  Steve serves on two non-profit boards within the greater Cincinnati area that focus primarily on helping those with developmental disabilities and oversees an adult developmentally disabled softball program that serves over 120 individuals annually.