Claims Commandment VIII – Thou Shall Not Suffer Fraud to Succeed
Barry Zalma
Claims Commandment VIII – Thou Shall Not Suffer Fraud to Succeed
Read the full article at https://lnkd.in/g7k4XU-j and see the full video at https://lnkd.in/gwG-huuk and at https://lnkd.in/gUmX3Sqe and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 4350 posts.
Posted on November 10, 2022 by Barry Zalma
See the full video at https://rumble.com/v1rzynm-claims-commandments.html and at
Insurance fraud in the U.S. is epidemic. Insurance fraud continually takes more money each year than it did the last from the insurance buying public. Estimates of the extent of insurance fraud in the United States used to range from $87 billion to $308 billion every year. Recently, the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud changed its long-held estimate of $80 billion a year to $308 billion a year in 2022.
In truth no one really knows the extent of insurance fraud because most insurance fraud schemes succeed without the insurer even suspecting that it is being defrauded.
Insurers and government backed pseudo-insurers can only estimate the extent they lose to fraudulent claims. No one will ever place an exact number on the amount lost to insurance fraud but everyone who has looked at the issue know – whether based on their heart, their gut or empirical fact of convictions for the crime of insurance fraud – that the number is enormous. When insurers and governments put on a serious effort to reduce the amount of insurance fraud the number of claims presented to insurers and the pseudo-insurers drops logarithmically.
What Do The Results of the Effort Against Fraud Really Show?
Insurance fraud prosecutions and investigations are anemic. What the reports do not tell is that most of those convicted were sentenced to probation. Few made full restitution and those who served time were few and far between. Insurance criminals are laughing at the insurance industry, the police agencies, the Fraud Divisions and the prosecutors. If they are one of the few criminally convicted, they face an average sentence of only five years’ probation and 60 days in jail. Jail time is usually served on weekends so that the convicted fraud perpetrators can still ply their fraudulent trade on weekdays.
For insurance fraud to be prosecuted the insurer must do the work to complete a thorough investigation that can be presented to a prosecutor because police, federal investigators, prosecutors and even Fraud Division investigators will do nothing until the case is presented to them in detail by an insurer. In fact, most states have statutes that compel insurers to maintain a Special Investigative Unit (SIU) to investigate fraud claims and provide the results of that investigation to the state Department of Insurance.
Every person involved in the business of insurance must understand that insurance fraud is the orphan child of the criminal justice system. Insurance fraud will never be totally defeated. It will be reduced and may be made unprofitable to the perpetrators when the public and prosecutors recognize that insurance fraud is a serious problem that effects their own financial condition.
Everyone involved in the business of insurance and everyone who buys insurance must make it clear that they are angry with what is happening to their insurance premium dollar. When I, and everyone who has ever purchased a policy of insurance, hear that $300 out of every $1,000 we pay in premium goes to a criminal we should all want to scream out the window, as did the character in “Network” — “I’m mad as Hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!”
What is Fraud?
Insurance fraud is a tort, a civil wrong and a crime. Black’s Law Dictionary, 6th Edition, defines fraud as:
"An intentional perversion of the truth for the purpose of inducing another in reliance upon it to part with some valuable thing belonging to him or to surrender a legal right; a false representation of a matter of fact, whether by words or by conduct, by false or misleading allegations or by concealment of that which should have been disclosed, which deceives and is intended to deceive another so that he shall act upon it to his legal injury."
In simple language, fraud can be defined as a lie told for the purpose of obtaining money from another who believes the lie to be true. Civil insurance fraud exists if an insured makes a representation to the insurer that the insured knows is false; conceals from the insurer a fact he or she knows is material to the insurer; makes a promise he or she does not intend to keep; and makes a misrepresentation on which the insurer relies in issuing the policy, that results in the insurer incurring damage.
The claims professional should be aware of the limitations of the criminal statute in the state where he or she practices.
Investigating Fraud
The beginning of a thorough insurance fraud investigation is the interview. The interview can be informal, it can be recorded with an audio recording device, it can be recorded with a handwritten statement signed by the witness, or it can be recorded by a certified shorthand reporter under oath. The interview is a structured conversation. It is not an interrogation. It is not the stuff of spy films, police investigations, or prisoner of war camps. Interviews are everywhere. Interviewing is an art. Use of methods similar to those used by scientists conducting experiments is a more accurate description of interviewing.
Conclusion
Whenever fraud is suspected it is the duty of the insurer, its claim staff and its special investigation unit (SIU) to conduct a thorough investigation. If a preponderance of the evidence gathered reveals that a fraud has been committed: that there was a material misrepresentation or a concealment of a material fact, made with the intent to deceive the insurer, that the insurer was actually deceived, and that the insurer was damaged by the deception, the claim must be rejected.
If a preponderance of the evidence does not exist or establishes there was no fraud the claim should be paid.
If you wish to know everything there is to know about insurance fraud, Barry Zalma has totally rewritten his seminal book on insurance fraud in two volumes. Volume I is Available as a Kindle book; Available as a Hardcover; Available as a Paperback Volume II is Available as a Kindle book; Available as a Hardcover; Available as a Paperback
(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] and receive videos limited to subscribers of Excellence in Claims Handling at locals.com https://zalmaoninsurance.locals.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
Zalma on Insurance
Insurance, insurance claims, insurance law, and insurance fraud .
By Barry Zalma
Notice of Claim Later than 60 Days After Expiration is Too Late
Post 5089
Injury at Massage Causes Suit Against Therapist
Read the full article at https://lnkd.in/gziRzFV8, see the full video at https://lnkd.in/gF4aYrQ2 and at https://lnkd.in/gqShuGs9, and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5050 posts.
Hiscox Insurance Company (“Hiscox”) moved the USDC to Dismiss a suit for failure to state a claim because the insured reported its claim more than 60 days after expiration of the policy.
In Mluxe Williamsburg, LLC v. Hiscox Insurance Company, Inc., et al., No. 4:25-cv-00002, United States District Court, E.D. Missouri, Eastern Division (May 22, 2025) the trial court’s judgment was affirmed.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
Plaintiff, the operator of a massage spa franchise, entered into a commercial insurance agreement with Hiscox that provided liability insurance coverage from July 25, 2019, to July 25, 2020. On or about June 03, 2019, a customer alleged that one of Plaintiff’s employees engaged in tortious ...
ZIFL – Volume 29, Issue 11
The Source for the Insurance Fraud Professional
Posted on June 2, 2025 by Barry Zalma
Post 5087
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Read the full article and the full issue of ZIFL June 1, 2025 at https://zalma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ZIFL-06-01-2025.pdf
Zalma’s Insurance Fraud Letter – June 1, 2025
See the full video at https://lnkd.in/gw-Hgww9 and at https://lnkd.in/gF8QAq4d, and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5050 posts.
ZIFL – Volume 29, Issue 11
The Source for the Insurance Fraud Professional
Read the full article and the full issue of ZIFL June 1, 2025 at https://lnkd.in/gTWZUnnF
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 ...
No Coverage if Home Vacant for More Than 60 Days
Failure to Respond To Counterclaim is an Admission of All Allegations
Post 5085
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In Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company v. Rebecca Massey, Civil Action No. 2:25-cv-00124, United States District Court, S.D. West Virginia, Charleston Division (May 22, 2025) Defendant Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company's (“Nationwide”) motion for Default Judgment against Plaintiff Rebecca Massey (“Plaintiff”) for failure to respond to a counterclaim and because the claim was excluded by the policy.
BACKGROUND
On February 26, 2022, Plaintiff's home was destroyed by a fire. At the time of this accident, Plaintiff had a home insurance policy with Nationwide. Plaintiff reported the fire loss to Nationwide, which refused to pay for the damages under the policy because the home had been vacant for more than 60 days.
Plaintiff filed suit ...
ZIFL Volume 29, Issue 10
The Source for the Insurance Fraud Professional
See the full video at https://lnkd.in/gK_P4-BK and at https://lnkd.in/g2Q7BHBu, and at https://zalma.com/blog and at https://lnkd.in/gjyMWHff.
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/ You can read the full issue of the May 15, 2025 issue at http://zalma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ZIFL-05-15-2025.pdf
This issue contains the following articles about insurance fraud:
Health Care Fraud Trial Results in Murder for Hire of Witness
To Avoid Conviction for Insurance Fraud Defendants Murder Witness
In United States of America v. Louis Age, Jr.; Stanton Guillory; Louis Age, III; Ronald Wilson, Jr., No. 22-30656, United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit (April 25, 2025) the Fifth Circuit dealt with the ...
Professional Health Care Services Exclusion Effective
Post 5073
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This opinion is the recommendation of a Magistrate Judge to the District Court Judge and involves Travelers Casualty Insurance Company and its duty to defend the New Mexico Bone and Joint Institute (NMBJI) and its physicians in a medical negligence lawsuit brought by Tervon Dorsey.
In Travelers Casualty Insurance Company Of America v. New Mexico Bone And Joint Institute, P.C.; American Foundation Of Lower Extremity Surgery And Research, Inc., a New Mexico Corporation; Riley Rampton, DPM; Loren K. Spencer, DPM; Tervon Dorsey, individually; Kimberly Dorsey, individually; and Kate Ferlic as Guardian Ad Litem for K.D. and J.D., minors, No. 2:24-cv-0027 MV/DLM, United States District Court, D. New Mexico (May 8, 2025) the Magistrate Judge Recommended:
Insurance Coverage Dispute:
Travelers issued a Commercial General Liability ...
A Heads I Win, Tails You Lose Story
Post 5062
Posted on April 30, 2025 by Barry Zalma
"This is a Fictionalized True Crime Story of Insurance Fraud that explains why Insurance Fraud is a “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” situation for Insurers. The story is designed to help everyone to Understand How Insurance Fraud in America is Costing Everyone who Buys Insurance Thousands of Dollars Every year and Why Insurance Fraud is Safer and More Profitable for the Perpetrators than any Other Crime."
Immigrant Criminals Attempt to Profit From Insurance Fraud
People who commit insurance fraud as a profession do so because it is easy. It requires no capital investment. The risk is low and the profits are high. The ease with which large amounts of money can be made from insurance fraud removes whatever moral hesitation might stop the perpetrator from committing the crime.
The temptation to do everything outside the law was the downfall of the brothers Karamazov. The brothers had escaped prison in the old Soviet Union by immigrating to the United...