Fraud Isn’t Fun Anymore
Thank you for reading Excellence in Claims Handling. This post is public so feel free to share it.
Posted on April 28, 2022 by Barry Zalma
See the full video at https://rumble.com/v12oc78-true-crime-of-insurance-fraud-video-number-63.html and at
Not everyone who commits insurance fraud is a hardened criminal. Not all perpetrators of insurance fraud do so to profit. Some, like the person who is the subject of this story, do it for fun.
Insurance investigators have an unearned reputation for brilliance in investigation. Movies and television paint insurance investigators as tough, highly intelligent, tenacious and almost impossible to fool. The average, contrary to the image created by television, insurance investigator is a 25-year-old graduate of a liberal arts college with little investigative experience.
The training received by insurance investigators, properly so, is directed to a determination of how much and how fast a claim should be paid. Their training in fraud detection is limited by the desire of the insurer to fulfill its obligation to pay claims fairly and promptly.
The Insured did not know about the lack of experience of the average insurance investigator. The Insured believed a person who could succeed at fraud would be brilliant. A successful fraud would be an exciting challenge.
He decided to attempt a fraudulent insurance claim. The Insured wanted the excitement in life he believed was his right to experience.
The broker, based on the excellent quality of the appraisals, had no difficulty insuring the schedule. With his connections in the Surplus Line Market the broker placed insurance with a Swiss Insurance Company he knew to be reinsured 100% by a South African reinsurer. The Swiss insurer bound coverage pending a favorable inspection of the art by an appraiser of its choice.
The Insured emptied his life’s savings and paid the required 10% installment on the $42,000 premium. He knew that the inspector would arrive soon. He did not have the rest of the premium or $1,400,000 in fine arts to show the inspector. It was necessary that the ABC Van and Storage facility be the victim of a burglary before the inspector arrived.
If the investigator had recognized the red flags, she would have interviewed each appraiser. If the appraisers had been interviewed, the falsity of the appraisals would have been discovered immediately and the claim could have been denied for fraud. Reports would have been made to the Fraud Division. The Insured may even have been arrested for Insurance fraud, violation of California Penal Code § 550. Instead, the insured, still bored, has a great deal more money than he could ever have earned working in a movie house.
(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 https://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/
Read the full article at https://lnkd.in/ga89cGrV and see the full video at https://lnkd.in/gNxxW5vB and at https://lnkd.in/gmf8aSrE and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 4200 posts.
Detail Charging Defendant for Fraud is Sufficient
Post 5242
Read the full article at https://lnkd.in/g_HVw36q, see the video at https://lnkd.in/gpBd-XTg and at https://lnkd.in/gzCnBjgQ and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5200 posts.
Charges that Advises the Defendant of the Crime Cannot be Set Aside
In United States Of America v. Lourdes Navarro, AKA Lulu, No. 25-661, United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit (December 4, 2025) Lourdes Navarro appealed the district court’s denial of her motion to dismiss the indictment and enter final judgment was in error.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
The indictment alleged that insurers reimburse only for medically necessary services. Navarro performed unnecessary respiratory pathogen panel (RPP) tests on nasal swabs collected from asymptomatic individuals for COVID-19 screening.
Navarro billed over $455 million to insurers for those additional RPP tests that she knew to be medically unnecessary. These allegations constituted a plain, concise, and definite written ...
Louisiana Statute Prevents Enforcement of Contract Term Requiring Arbitration of Disputes
Post 5241
Read the full article at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/international-convention-requiring-enforcement-award-barry-sttdc, see the video at and at and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5200 posts.
In Town of Vinton v. Indian Harbor Insurance Company, Nos. 24-30035, 24-30748, 24-30749, 24-30750, 24-30751, 24-30756, 24-30757, United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit (December 8, 2025) municipal entities including the Town of Vinton, et al sued domestic insurers after dismissing foreign insurers with prejudice. The insurers sought arbitration under the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the “Convention”) but the court held Louisiana law — prohibiting arbitration clauses in such policies—controls, as the Convention does not apply absent foreign parties who ...
Refusal to Provide Workers’ Compensation is Expensive
Post 5240
Read the full article at https://lnkd.in/guC9dnqA, see the video at https://lnkd.in/gVxz-qmk and at https://lnkd.in/gUTAnCZw, and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5200 posts.
In Illinois Department of Insurance, Insurance Compliance Department v.USA Water And Fire Restoration, Inc., And Nicholas Pacella, Individually And As Officer, Nos. 23WC021808, 18INC00228, No. 25IWCC0467, the Illinois Department of Insurance (Petitioner) initiated an investigation after the Injured Workers’ Benefit Fund (IWBF) was added to a pending workers’ compensation claim. The claim alleged a work-related injury during employment with the Respondents who failed to maintain workers’ compensation Insurance.
Company Overview:
USA Water & Fire Restoration, Inc. was incorporated on January 17, 2014, and dissolved on June 14, 2019, for failure to file annual reports and pay franchise taxes. It then operated under assumed names including USA Board Up & Glass Co. and USA Plumbing and Sewer. The business ...
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 ...
