Zalma on Insurance
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Insurance Claims professional presents articles and videos on insurance, insurance Claims and insurance law for insurance Claims adjusters, insurance professionals and insurance lawyers who wish to improve their skills and knowledge. Presented by an internationally recognized expert and author.
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May 11, 2022
True Crime of Insurance Fraud Video Number 71

Miscarriage Manipulation for Money

Read the full article at https://lnkd.in/gYQCAR39 and see the full video at https://lnkd.in/geBmJtia and at https://lnkd.in/gKibuU7X and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 4200 posts.

Posted on May 11, 2022 by Barry Zalma

Posted on May 11, 2022 by Barry Zalma

See the full video at https://rumble.com/v147vii-true-crime-of-insurance-fraud-video-number-71.html and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 4200 posts.

Rita was five months’ pregnant. Her entire family greeted her condition as an opportunity to make sufficient money for a happy Christmas in sunny Hawaii.

For four generations Rita’s family has lived luxuriously on insurance claims. Their last names changed more often than their underwear. Wherever they go, they carry a small plastic valve of soapy liquid and a small razor. Depending on the size of the town they are visiting, they stay a week, a month or a year. One member of the family will claim to have slipped and fallen in a restaurant or grocery store. With the razor they will induce bleeding at their hairline or on an arm or leg. They will be pleasant victims with no interest in profit. Grocers, and their insurers, rapidly and fairly settle their claims in fear that their injuries will increase.

Rita had been a professional claimant since she was eight. She fell in the most luxurious restaurants in Las Vegas, New York City, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., St. Louis, Missouri, and Beverly Hills, California. Shortly after she began to walk, her family taught her how to slip and look like she was hurt without actually causing any physical damage. By the time she was five she could limp on either leg, hold one arm limp, wince with pain when touched and give all the symptoms of a severely injured person.

By the time she was ten she had a clear knowledge of anatomy and knew all of the symptoms of soft tissue injury. Now, at 22, pregnant with the child of a sailor she met in San Diego whose name she does not remember, Rita is ready to move into major, profit making scams. Her brother Aaron would pose as her husband as they worked the major hotels and restaurants of Sacramento, California. At the Holiday Inn, she fell in a puddle of water in the lobby restroom where two innocent women ran to her assistance.

“Oh, my God!” Rita moaned. “Did I hurt the baby.”

Rita rode to the hospital with her “husband” sitting in the ambulance beside her, wringing his hands. They left their name, a mail drop address and a telephone number which connected to the family cellular telephone, with the hotel. She and the baby were found healthy and allowed to leave, although the doctor, because of the family history of miscarriage, noted on the hospital record that here condition was “guarded” and that she should cautiously watch for any spotting or other indication of a potential miscarriage.

In the next four days Rita fell in five hotels, two department stores and three restaurants in greater Sacramento. She rode to the hospital in an ambulance twice and visited a local chiropractor known to her family four times.

The family lived, and traveled, in three sixty-foot motor homes equipped with cellular telephones, a computer and all the comforts of a luxurious home. The family knew better than to be greedy. They never presented more than 10 claims each in any one city.

Rita and Aaron were reasonable people. They told the adjusters they did not wish to hire a lawyer. Although they were afraid they might lose the baby, the doctors had assured them that the baby was unhurt by the fall.

The adjusters, sensing an ability to settle the claim quickly before the baby was born, with possible extra damage, worked quickly to gain the confidence of Rita and Aaron. They wanted a release that would protect their clients.

They had no knowledge of Rita’s family history. Liability was clear. Independent witnesses observed a slick, soapy substance on the floor and on Rita after she fell.

Rita and Aaron were professional claims presenters. They played upon the innocence and good faith of the insurance adjusters. They would tell the adjusters:

“We don’t want money. We just can’t afford to pay the doctors’ bills. Please pay those for us and we’ll be happy.”

The adjusters, knowing the law and knowing that if litigation was filed Rita would be entitled to money for her pain and suffering, insisted that Rita take more money than the medical bills. Most of the claims were settled for between $6,000 and $25,000, depending on the generosity or gullibility of the individual adjusters.

Rita’s potential miscarriage brought her family over $100,000 for their stay in Sacramento. Her brothers, sisters, cousins and nephews falling all over the city generated another $100,000 in claims payments.

Their welcome in Sacramento worn thin, the family motor homes traveled west to San Francisco.

The motor homes were parked in a long term secure parking lot and the entire family boarded airplanes for a three week holiday in Maui.
ZALMA OPINION

The reason why a group of professional slip and fall claimants can succeed is due to the failure of insurers to conduct a full and thorough investigation of a claim presented. Had the adjuster’s investigated Rita’s claims and had they checked the All Claims Data Base the crime would have failed.
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(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.

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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/

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20 hours ago
Zalma’s Insurance Fraud Letter – November 1, 2025

ZIFL – Volume 29, Issue 21

THE SOURCE FOR THE INSURANCE FRAUD PROFESSIONAL

Post 5220

Read the full article at https://lnkd.in/gRMJpi4s, see the video at https://lnkd.in/gwGSd6ZA & at https://lnkd.in/gbDiuFJy, and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5200 posts.

See the video at & at https://rumble.com/v711hr0-zalmas-insurance-fraud-letter-november-1-2025.html

See the full 18 page issue of ZIFL at ZIFL-11-01-2025

Zalma’s Insurance Fraud Letter (ZIFL) continues its 29th year of publication dedicated to those involved in reducing the effect of insurance fraud. ZIFL is published 24 times a year by ClaimSchool and is written by Barry Zalma. It is provided FREE to anyone who visits the site at http://zalma.com/zalmas-insurance-fraud-letter-2/

Conviction for Health Insurance Fraud Upheld

Physician Conspired with Bonavilla to Effect Health Insurance Fraud

Dennis Davin Bonavilla was involved in an insurance fraud scheme as an executive of Free Choice Healthcare. The scheme targeted indigent patients, often on ...

00:10:22
October 31, 2025
The Zalma Philosophy of Claims Handling – Part 8

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....

00:11:08
October 28, 2025
The Zalma Philosophy of Claims Handling – Part 6

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 ...

00:08:40
October 31, 2025
The Zalma Philosophy of Claims Handling – Part 9

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 ...

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October 20, 2025
The Zalma Philosophy of Claims Handling – Part I

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 ...

post photo preview
October 20, 2025
The Zalma Philosophy of Claims Handling – Part I

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 ...

post photo preview
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