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My Red Bank colleague, Dan Ballard, and I recently gave a presentation about Misrepresentations & Mistakes at the 2020 Fall Conference of the Professional Public Adjusters Association of New Jersey (PPAANJ). During that presentation, I discussed New York case law providing that a homeowners insurance policy may be voided if the insured willfully and fraudulently places in the proof of loss a statement of property lost which the insured did not possess, or places a false and fraudulent value upon the articles which the insured did not own.…
Continue Reading Incorrect Information Within Proof of Loss Not Enough To Void Insurance Policy

Steve Badger and Steve Patrick are really great at what they do—and both publicly do a lot in the field of properly insurance claims handling. Both have been outspoken about insurance fraud. In my recent post, Want A Hail Damage Claim Tip Which Helps Policyholder Recovery? Do Not Miss Friday At 2 With Chip Today, I noted the following:

‘Badger Traps’ will also be a topic with a big shout out to Steve Patrick for his upcoming seminar. The above photo is of Steve Badger and me. Yes, Steve Patrick has a warning about the smiling man next to me and what you have to be careful of when dealing with insurance companies about Overhead and Profit issues with contractors. Patrick’s seminar is gratis to American Policyholder Association members.

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Continue Reading Badger Traps and How Contractors Can Avoid Being Accused of Insurance Fraud

It is not uncommon that a homeowner may suffer hailstorm damage and receive an actual cash value payment, but not make all the repairs before the next hailstorm hits. This is the situation that arose in Selective Insurance Company of South Carolina v. Sela.1…
Continue Reading Insurer Acted in Bad Faith Where it Could Identify No Specific Misrepresentations Made by the Insured

Law360 published an excellent article, The Insurance Landscape For Phishing Claims Is Shifting,1 written by Jason Rubinstein and Jasmine Chalashtori. Their summary about the importance of coverage for these computer fraud claims and the need for brokers to discuss these risks with their business clients was highlighted at the end of their article:…
Continue Reading Computer Fraud, Phishing, and Cyber Insurance Claims Pose Significant Risks and Coverage Issues

Drew Houghton heads up Merlin Law Group operations in our Oklahoma City office. I was speaking with him just before our holiday party about the American Policyholder Association combating fraudulent engineering reports harming policyholders as noted in, American Policyholder Association Makes Resonating Comments About Insurance Fraud Against Policyholders. Drew then told me about a recently filed Oklahoma class action where engineers were accused of sham reports to help prevent earthquake claims payments.…
Continue Reading Engineers Accused of Sham Reports in Class Action

Douglas Quinn is the President of the American Policyholder Association (APA.). He was in Orlando last Saturday afternoon. The meeting was somewhat impromptu and had a number of leaders from the National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters.…
Continue Reading American Policyholder Association Makes Resonating Comments About Insurance Fraud Against Policyholders

On October 2, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida ruled that a dispute between an insurance company and its policyholder should proceed to appraisal despite insurance company’s allegations that it had discovered what it called evidence of fraud.…
Continue Reading An Insurer’s Potential Fraud Claim Against Insured Was “No Reason to Stop or Stay Appraisal,” Court Rules

Following a devastating loss to one’s home, as is the case throughout California due to recent fires and mudslides, the process of contacting your insurer to begin the rebuilding or repair can be complicated and daunting. Many are quick to begin the rebuilding and repairs immediately or as soon as possible. However, there are requirements in working with your insurer to properly rebuild or repair. If an insured fails to follow appropriate protocols, the insurer can not only deny coverage, but do so on the basis of fraud.…
Continue Reading Don’t Expose Yourself to Fraud Allegations by the Insurer