Lawrence Mower wrote a Herald/Times article titled Regulators Were Warned Years Ago That Insurance Companies Were Altering Florida Claims.1 The article discusses how the American Policyholder’s Association provided this information and examples to Florida’s insurance regulators, but nothing happened. It stated in part:
Karen Schiffmiller, a leader and Past President of the Florida Association of Public Insurance Adjusters, wrote the following note in response to an article, Miami Homeowner Charged with Defrauding Citizens by Claiming Old Damage:
Continue Reading Disclosures of Prior Damage and Claims Presentation Accuracy Avoid Claims Disputes
Brianna Sacks of the Washington Post is already far ahead of Ron DeSantis and Jimmy Patronis when it comes to investigating and disclosing Florida’s insurance company claims corruption. After Donald Trump called out Desantis for being in bed with the “globalist” insurance industry and selling out Floridians, it was reported that DeSantis called for an investigation into these wrongful claims act violations.
A recent law review article, Policyholder Misrepresentation in Insurance Claims,1 written by insurance law professor Jay Feinman raised the issue of insurance companies wrongfully claiming fraud as a claims practice. Personally, I am sick and tired of the overuse of fraud allegations by insurance companies and their propagandists. Based on the significant amount of fraud claimed by insurance defense counsel and insurance company lobbyists, insurance seems to be a product more addictive than opioids because it turns a great deal of an otherwise innocent public into criminals.
Continue Reading Do Insurance Companies Claim Fraud by the Policyholder for Opportunistic Reasons?
The Louisiana Department of Insurance has taken the extraordinary step of filing an administrative action against a Texas-based law firm. I have been working in the first-party insurance claims business for over forty years. I have never seen anything like this.
Every month I receive and read Barry Zalma’s Fraud Newsletter. It usually has a lot more insurance claims information than stories only about fraud. This month’s edition had a lot of information, and I want to suggest that readers of this blog also subscribe to Zalma’s publication.
Continue Reading Barry Zalma’s Fraud Newsletter Stands the Test of Time
A recent topic of this blog has been the made-up insurance fraud statistics by the insurance industry, which has been discussed in Is the Insurance Industry’s Fraud Statistic Fraudulent? and Insurance Professor Jay Feinman Comments About Insurance Fraud Statistics. I have always wondered why we encounter such few allegations of policyholder fraud from insurers such as Amica, Chubb, and Lexington Preferred who charge higher premiums and compete on service rather than price. These companies do not nitpick their customers to death, and the focus is on fully paying the loss right away.
Continue Reading Does Nitpicking On Claims Have An Adverse Effect on Policyholder Morals?
This weekend’s post, Is the Insurance Industry’s Fraud Statistic Fraudulent? resulted in several great comments. One was from Rutger’s insurance law professor, Jay Feinman, who wrote the book, Delay Deny Defend–Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It. His book should be in everybody’s personal library.
Continue Reading Insurance Professor Jay Feinman Comments About Insurance Fraud Statistics
This is not the first time I have raised this issue. Fourteen years ago, I posted Are Insurance Fraud Statistics Fraudulent? Those making up these statistics are still not transparent with the actual numbers and methodology. They do not show how the calculations were made.
Continue Reading Is the Insurance Industry’s Fraud Statistic Fraudulent?
Insurance fraud is always wrong. It is especially wrong when the insurance company is defrauding its own customer. The American Policyholder Association (APA) has taken a bold step by hiring experienced insurance fraud investigators to review and investigate actions by insurance companies that are wrongful and fraudulent.
Continue Reading Is The Insurance Company Committing Fraud? Report It To The American Policyholder Association Professional Fraud Investigators