The Story That Wrote Itself Video Number 51
Read the full article at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/arson-for-profit-fails-guilt-established-barry-zalma-esq-cfe and see the full video at https://rumble.com/v104lvd-arson-for-profit-fails-and-guilt-established.html and at
and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 4150 posts.
Posted on April 8, 2022 by Barry Zalma
See the full video at https://rumble.com/v104lvd-arson-for-profit-fails-and-guilt-established.html and at
Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE presents videos so you can learn how insurance fraud is perpetrated and what is necessary to deter or defeat insurance fraud.
On February 27, 1995 the District Attorney filed the following In the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of San Diego that writes this chapter for me. The District Attorney stated, as part of the criminal Information (the charge) as follows:
“COUNT — 1 CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT A CRIME “On or about December 10, 1991 JORGE NOREN HOLLAND did willfully and unlawfully conspire together and with another person (Armen Al Zennedjian) and persons whose identity is unknown to commit the crime of Arson of an Inhabited Structure or Inhabited Property, Penal Code § 451 (b), in violation of Penal Code Section 182 (a) (1).
“The object of the conspiracy was to set fire to and burn the house located at 3030 Shelby Drive, in the County of San Diego, which belonged to and was occupied by JORGE NOREN HOLLAND in an effort for JORGE NOREN HOLLAND to collect the insurance proceeds as a result of the fire “Thereafter, in the County of San Diego, State of California, pursuant to the above conspiracy and in furtherance of the objects thereof:
“OVERT ACT NO. (01): On or about December 10, 1991, at the house located at 3030 Shelby Drive, JORGE NOREN HOLLAND showed Armen Al Zennedjian where the house key to 3030 Shelby Drive was located.
“OVERT ACT NO. (02): ……entered the house with Armen Al Zennedjian.
“OVERT ACT NO. (03):…at the house HOLLAND showed …Zennedjian around the interior of the house.
“OVERT ACT NO. (04): On or about December 11, 1991, …Zennedjian telephoned …HOLLAND to inform him that …Zennedjian would go to the house …on December 12, 1991 to cause the house to catch fire and burn.
“OVERT ACT NO. (05): On or about December 11, 1991, …HOLLAND had a telephone conversation with …Zennedjian about …Zennedjian going to the house …on December 12, 1991 to cause the house to catch fire and burn.
“OVERT ACT NO. (06): On or about December 12, 1991, at his residence in the City of El Cajon, …Zennedjian obtained gasoline cans which he placed into his pickup truck.
“OVERT ACT NO. (07): On or about December 12, 1991, at a gas station near his residence in the City of El Cajon, …Zennedjian purchased gasoline, and filled the gas cans that he had obtained from his residence with the gasoline.
“OVERT ACT NO. (08): On or about December 12, 1991, …Zennedjian drove his pickup truck from the gas station near his residence in the City of El Cajon with the gas cans filled with gasoline to the house located at 3030 Shelby Drive.
“OVERT ACT NO. (09): On or about December 12, 1991, at 3030 Shelby Drive, …Zennedjian obtained the house key shown to him by …HOLLAND at the house…
“OVERT ACT NO. (10): On or about December 12, 1991, …Zennedjian used the house key shown to him by …HOLLAND to unlock the door to the house…
“OVERT ACT NO. (11): On or about December 12, 1991, …Zennedjian entered the house at 3030 Shelby Drive. “OVERT ACT NO. (12): On or about December 12, 1991, …Zennedjian while inside the house
…opened the sliding glass porch door and exited the house…
“OVERT ACT NO. (13): …Zennedjian reentered the house … and carried the gas cans filled with gasoline that he had brought with him, into the house…
“COUNT — 2 ARSON OF AN INHABITED STRUCTURE OR PROPERTY “On or about December 12, 1991 JORGE NOREN HOLLAND did willfully, unlawfully, and maliciously set fire to and burn and cause to be burned an inhabited structure and inhabited property, in violation of PENAL CODE SECTION 451(b). “And, it is further alleged that in the commission and attempted commission of the above offense, the said defendant, JORGE NOREN HOLLAND did take, damage, and destroy property, with the intent to cause such taking, damage, and destruction, and the loss exceeds one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), within the meaning of Penal Code section 12022.6(b).
“COUNT — 3 FALSE OR FRAUDULENT INSURANCE CLAIM “On or about March 27, 1992 JORGE NOREN HOLLAND did knowingly and unlawfully present or cause to be presented a false or fraudulent claim for the payment of loss under a contract of insurance, in violation of INSURANCE CODE SECTION 1871.1.” The only oddity about the Information quoted above is its rarity. Those of us involved with the Insurance industry should cheer the actions of the San Diego District Attorney and the insurers who refused to pay to avoid litigation with the two individuals alleged by the Information to have committed the crimes of arson and insurance fraud.
Mr. Holland Pleaded guilty to insurance fraud and was sentenced to make restitution to the insurance company and placed on probation. He, in fact made full restitution to the insurance company to avoid immediate incarceration and a copy of that check is hanging on my office wall.
Zalma Opinion
American States Insurance Company (the victim) and its investigator Steve Thompson should be honored for its efforts to defeat this fraud and help the state of California to bring the arsonist to justice.
(c) 2022 Barry Zalma & ClaimSchool, Inc.
Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, now limits his practice to service as an insurance consultant specializing in insurance coverage, insurance claims handling, insurance bad faith and insurance fraud almost equally for insurers and policyholders. He practiced law in California for more than 44 years as an insurance coverage and claims handling lawyer and more than 54 years in the insurance business. He is available at http://www.zalma.com and [email protected].
Subscribe to Zalma on Insurance at locals.com https://zalmaoninsurance.local.com/subscribe.
Subscribe to Excellence in Claims Handling at https://barryzalma.substack.com/welcome.
Write to Mr. Zalma at [email protected]; http://www.zalma.com; http://zalma.com/blog; daily articles are published at https://zalma.substack.com.
Go to the podcast Zalma On Insurance at https://anchor.fm/barry-zalma; Follow Mr. Zalma on Twitter at https://twitter.com/bzalma; Go to Barry Zalma videos at Rumble.com at https://rumble.com/c/c-262921; Go to Barry Zalma on YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCysiZklEtxZsSF9DfC0Expg; Go to the Insurance Claims Library – https://zalma.com/blog/insurance-claims-library/
The Professional Claims Handler
Post 5218
Read the full article at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/zalma-philosophy-claims-handling-part-8-barry-zalma-esq-cfe-zdwsc, see the full video at https://rumble.com/v70zl4s-the-zalma-philosophy-of-claims-handling-part-8.html and at https://youtu.be/MIYcF71ffRQ, and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5200 posts.
Claims Commandment X – Thou Shall Not Pretend to be a Lawyer
Some experienced and professional claims people know the law in their area of expertise better than most lawyers.
Adjusters should be adjusters and leave lawyering to lawyers. Similarly, lawyers should be lawyers and never try to be adjusters.
Claims Commandment XI – Thou Shall Empathize With the Claimant
Everyone presenting a claim is unhappy, disturbed, shocked, injured and needs help.
Empathy is identification with and understanding of another’s situation, feelings, and motives. It is the ability to understand another person’s circumstances, point of view, thoughts, and feelings....
HOW TO CREATE AN EXCELLENCE IN CLAIMS HANDLING PROGRAM
See the full video at https://rumble.com/v70wb2i-the-zalma-philosophy-of-claims-handling-part-6.html and at https://youtu.be/tL5nDKPEs40 and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5200 posts.
Post 5217
This is a change from my normal blog postings. It is my attempt. in more than one post, to explain the need for professional claims representatives who comply with the basic custom and practice of the insurance industry.
An Excellence in Claims Handling program begins with a statement in the insurer’s claims manual or statement of professionalism that it is dedicated to providing excellence in claims handling to every insured who presents a claim.
The excellence in claims handling program should include, at a minimum:
A series of lectures supported by text materials explaining:
A definition of insurance.
How to read and understand an insurance policy.
How to interview an insured, witness, or claimant.
How to assist an insured in the insured’s obligation to ...
The Professional Claims Handler
Post 5216
Read the full article at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/zalma-philosophy-claims-handling-part-5-barry-zalma-esq-cfe-jde8c, see the full video at https://rumble.com/v70q4x8-the-zalma-philosophy-of-claims-handling-part-5.html and at https://youtu.be/6b9tZQsEkB4, and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5200 posts.
This is a change from my normal blog postings. It is my attempt. in more than one post, to explain the need for professional claims representatives who comply with the basic custom and practice of the insurance industry.
Standards to be a Professional Claims Adjuster
The Insurance claims professional should be a person who:
1. Can read and understand the insurance policies issued by the insurer.
2. Understands the promises made by the policy.
3. Understand their obligation, as an insurer’s claims staff, to fulfill the promises made.
4. Are competent investigators.
5. Have empathy and recognize the difference between empathy and sympathy.
6. ...
The Professional Claims Handler
Post 5219
Posted on October 31, 2025 by Barry Zalma
An Insurance claims professionals should be a person who:
Can read and understand the insurance policies issued by the insurer.
Understands the promises made by the policy.
Understand their obligation, as an insurer’s claims staff, to fulfill the promises made.
Are competent investigators.
Have empathy and recognize the difference between empathy and sympathy.
Understand medicine relating to traumatic injuries and are sufficiently versed in tort law to deal with lawyers as equals.
Understand how to repair damage to real and personal property and the value of the repairs or the property.
Understand how to negotiate a fair and reasonable settlement with the insured that is fair and reasonable to both the insured and the insurer.
How to Create Claims Professionals
To avoid fraudulent claims, claims of breach of contract, bad faith, punitive damages, unresolved losses, and to make a profit, insurers ...
The History Behind the Creation of a Claims Handling Expert
The Insurance Industry Needs to Implement Excellence in Claims Handling or Fail
Post 5210
This is a change from my normal blog postings. It is my attempt. in more than one post, to explain the need for professional claims representatives who comply with the basic custom and practice of the insurance industry. This statement of my philosophy on claims handling starts with my history as a claims adjuster, insurance defense and coverage lawyer and insurance claims handling expert.
My Training to be an Insurance Claims Adjuster
When I was discharged from the US Army in 1967 I was hired as an insurance adjuster trainee by a professional and well respected insurance company. The insurer took a chance on me because I had been an Army Intelligence Investigator for my three years in the military and could use that training and experience to be a basis to become a professional insurance adjuster.
I was initially sat at a desk reading a text-book on insurance ...
The History Behind the Creation of a Claims Handling Expert
The Insurance Industry Needs to Implement Excellence in Claims Handling or Fail
Post 5210
This is a change from my normal blog postings. It is my attempt. in more than one post, to explain the need for professional claims representatives who comply with the basic custom and practice of the insurance industry. This statement of my philosophy on claims handling starts with my history as a claims adjuster, insurance defense and coverage lawyer and insurance claims handling expert.
My Training to be an Insurance Claims Adjuster
When I was discharged from the US Army in 1967 I was hired as an insurance adjuster trainee by a professional and well respected insurance company. The insurer took a chance on me because I had been an Army Intelligence Investigator for my three years in the military and could use that training and experience to be a basis to become a professional insurance adjuster.
I was initially sat at a desk reading a text-book on insurance ...
