Jeremiah Welch

Jeremiah Welch is a Partner in the firm’s California office, a member of the US’s Executive Committee and a member of the Global Board of Directors. A U.S. Army Veteran and Connecticut native, Jeremiah joined SDV Fenchurch in 2007 and returned to California in 2016 to establish the firm’s West Coast presence. For over two decades, he has been a key leader in the firm’s growth and international expansion.

Widely recognized as a leading authority on construction risk and insurance recovery, Jeremiah represents many of the nation’s largest construction contractors and has recovered more than $1 billion in insurance assets on their behalf. Beyond litigation, he is a trusted advisor to insured corporations and the insurance brokerage community, providing strategic consulting, education, and training on complex insurance and construction risk issues. He is also the creative force behind the innovative Labor Guard Insurance Program, a model that transformed construction risk insurance in New York City’s complex and highly regulated market.

Jeremiah is a frequent speaker at national construction and insurance conferences and is respected throughout the industry for combining high-stakes litigation experience with practical insight into insurance placement, claims management, and risk transfer. He resides in Fallbrook, California, with his family.

Jeremiah focuses on helping owners, contractors, developers, and other project stakeholders manage and recover construction-related risks through strategic coordination of insurance, liability, and contractual entitlement claims. His practice includes developing contract language to maximize risk transfer, structuring project-specific insurance programs, advising on claim management strategies, and litigating complex insurance coverage disputes when necessary.

He has represented stakeholders in some of the nation’s most significant construction disasters, including the World Trade Center cleanup, the Hard Rock Hotel collapse, and the FIU bridge collapse. His experience spans builder’s risk, professional liability and indemnity, general liability, default risk, pollution liability, and other construction-related coverages.
Most recently, Jeremiah and his team secured the landmark decision in Archer W. – De Moya Joint Venture v. Ace American Insurance Co., 713 F. Supp. 3d 1260 (S.D. Fla. 2024), which clarified the meaning of “physical damage” and the application of the LEG 3 faulty workmanship exclusion in builder’s risk policies. This result reflects Jeremiah’s ability to achieve strategic resolutions that protect clients’ interests across contractual, liability, and insurance recovery fronts.