Life sciences involve plenty of cutting-edge technology. And at Berkley Life Sciences, Cynthia Khin is on the cutting edge of how to combine claims adjusting, litigation, and fact patterns into one innovative package. That’s her job as Berkley’s Life Sciences Casualty Resolution Director. But if that is all too futuristic for you, just ask about Khin’s other passion outside of work that pulls her in the exact opposite direction: preserving historic homes.
Where are you from?
I grew up in northern Virginia, and it’s where I started in the insurance industry, in a small agency doing commercial insurance for small businesses. The agency founder did sales while I was doing the nuts and bolts of issuing the policies—at that time by literally typing them up and attaching documents.
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
I don’t think I had a focus. I knew what I didn’t want to do. I didn’t want to be a stay-at-home mom. I didn’t want to be a doctor, attorney, or engineer. I didn’t want to spend a lot more years in school. I was always in a hurry. I wanted to get started in a career. And that plan actually worked out perfectly. To this day, I love my job. I am blown away when I wake up and have the opportunity to do what I do.
How did your career path in the insurance industry play out?
After the insurance agency in northern Virginia, I went to work at GEICO handling personal lines, auto, and homeowner claims.
I really had a passion for the industry. It was something I fell into and developed a knack for. Then I started taking insurance classes and getting certifications: CPCU, AIC, ARM, CCMP. Honestly, I’ve got so many letters and initials from those certifications behind my name, it’s embarrassing.
But I was drawn to complex, high-exposure cases. At one point while at GEICO, I thought I wanted to manage airplane crashes. But there aren’t enough of them to be full-time busy. The innovation I saw in life sciences led me to focus on that sector.
Pharmaceuticals, biotech, clinical trials, medical devices—it’s the intersection of science, law, and risk management, especially with regard to the safety and well-being of the population. It just drew me in. And I think it became more compelling as I gained experience in everything from contract breaches and intellectual property disputes to injured people, and how all this connected to regulatory guidelines.
Life sciences make a direct impact on pretty much everybody’s life. Navigating that intricate landscape of risk and liability in that highly regulated industry is a satisfying career.
It’s also just fascinating learning about the products, innovations, and companies whose motivation is improving and saving lives. I feel like I am doing my part for science and technology.
How did you connect with Magna?
I got a call from Kevin Grodnick out of the blue. He wanted to talk about the services Magna provided, and I took the call.
What would you say is the most valuable thing about a Magna mock trial?
It gives us (insurers) an opportunity to test our themes and the evidence, to look at the risk. The way that Magna slices and dices the data and leads the discussion with the mock jurors is an invaluable tool for us. A Magna mock trial saves dollars and helps us manage expenses.
But also, insurance companies don’t get an opportunity to try a lot of cases, especially in the commercial space. So, in mock trials, I get the added bonus of seeing my attorneys in action.
How many Magna mock trials have you done?
At Berkley, I think we have done four or five.
What is it about casualty resolution work that appeals to you?
When I joined Berkley 10 years ago, they were in the midst of an innovative process, changing from claims specialists to casualty resolution specialists. That means moving beyond handling claims to achieve comprehensive and timely case resolutions. It was a strategy focus versus just processing a claim.
A resolution specialist focuses on root causes and resolution opportunities. We identify solutions which enhance our customers’ experience. In addition to resolution, we want to figure out what happened and how to prevent it in the future.
Berkley has done a good job of making that core to our claim operations by focusing on resolution—which, by the way, does not just mean settlement. It can mean targeting discovery to support summary adjudication, winning at trial, or taking a case to trial knowing you might not win but might get a better outcome. BLS has been able to offer a very stable resolution team, with no revolving door of claim handlers. This is a common complaint among insureds of other companies—the ever-changing claim handler on their cases.
At the end of the day, we want to find lessons learned based on what we found during the claims investigation. It’s about higher service standards. We don’t just throw money at a claim but identify solutions to get out of litigation and prevent future litigation and claims. It’s about sustainable outcomes for policyholders. This philosophy comes from a company that embraces innovation.
How did you end up at Berkley?
I had been at a competitor insurer for 25 years but had worked with Berkley when they were excess. Berkley had tried to recruit me over the years. My company was sold, and Berkley reached out again at just the right time. That was 10 years ago.
W.R. Berkley is a major player in the insurance industry. They are made up of over 60 companies that provide a wide range of tailored commercial and personal insurance with offices worldwide. So, it’s a much bigger company than what I left. W.R. Berkley has thousands of employees worldwide.
Although the Berkley entities are all dedicated to specialized insurance products, there is very little commonality between them. Berkley Life Sciences, for example, is all commercial life sciences. We don’t do personal lines.
What do you want to do next?
On a professional level, I have 10 more years to do what I love every single day.
I don’t think my next chapter will be with insurance, but maybe saving and preserving historic homes. If you saw some of these old homes that have been neglected and torn down, it would break your heart.
We are in the process of renovating a 100-year-old historic home in Kansas City known as the Tiffany Castle, named for the original owner, Dr. Flavel Tiffany. That’s right, by coincidence he was involved in the life sciences as an ophthalmologist and medical school founder. So, you could say I’m insuring the current generation of life sciences and preserving the memory of those who helped lay the foundation.