Latest Claims Headlines
All the headlines from our Claims Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Why Public Adjusters Are Not Enemies of Independent Agents
Mar 8 2010 // Here’s why working with a public adjuster can be good for an independent insurance agency and for its customers: 1. After a disaster, insureds have hundreds or even thousands of questions and worries. In a...
Florida Cabinet Delays Hurricane Fund Assessments
Mar 7 2010 // The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund needs $710 million to continue to pay claims still coming in from 2005’s Hurricane Wilma but it is going to have to wait to assess policyholders to get those funds. The Florida...
E&O Insights: Personal Lines Accounts
Mar 7 2010 // Uncover Inland Marine Exposures for Protection and Sales Opportunities Although heavy personal lines accounts are generally more favorable from an errors and omissions (E&O) standpoint, there is no doubt the potential...
Army Bomb Expert Sues, Claims ‘Hurt Locker’ Movie Based on Him
Mar 5 2010 // An Army bomb disposal expert who served in the Iraq war is suing the makers of “The Hurt Locker,” claiming the Oscar-nominated film’s lead character is based on him and that they cheated him out of...
More Males Filing Sexual Harassment in Workplace Claims
Mar 5 2010 // John Pilkington’s boss wouldn’t take no for an answer. During more than two years as a food runner at an upscale steakhouse in Scottsdale, Arizona, Pilkington says his male supervisor groped, fondled and...
Global Warming Litigation Just Getting Started; Costs Will Be Significant
Mar 4 2010 // Toward the end of 2009, it appeared that a number of issues with the possibility of creating significant political and social changes were on the verge of becoming law before stalling or imploding. One such issue with...
Restaurant Work Injury Claims Account for 4% of Calif. Workers’ Comp Benefit Payments
Mar 2 2010 // Restaurant workers accounted for 6.1 percent of all California job injury claims, but only 4.1 percent of the state’s workers’ compensation benefit payments from 2000 to 2008, the California Workers’...
House Panel: Toyota May Have Settled Tort Claims to Avoid Releasing Data
Mar 1 2010 // A U.S. congressional panel has found evidence Toyota routinely withheld company records it should have turned over in court and settled personal injury cases to avoid revealing key engineering data dubbed the “Books...
California AG Subpoenas Health Plans Over Claims Denials and Rate Hikes
Feb 26 2010 // Los Angeles-Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr., who has an ongoing investigation into possibly illegal practices by some California health insurers, has subpoenaed financial records and other documents from...
Florida Cabinet Delays Hurricane Fund Assessments
Feb 25 2010 // The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund needs $710 million to continue to pay claims still coming in from 2005’s Hurricane Wilma but it is going to have to wait to assess policyholders to get those funds. The Florida...
Maryland Claims Adjuster Convicted of Theft
Feb 24 2010 // A former claims adjuster for Progressive in Maryland has been sentenced for stealing more than $39,000 from the insurer, according to the state’s attorney general. Chae Hyong Chu, has been sentenced on a single count...
Global Warming Litigation Just Getting Started
Feb 21 2010 // Issue Will Have Serious Implications for Insurance Industry Toward the end of 2009, it appeared that a number of issues with the possibility of creating significant political and social changes were on the verge of...
Some Red Flags in Residential Arsons Fly Before the Fire
Feb 18 2010 // Financial stress is the number one reason residential dwellings are intentionally torched, but proving the act of arson is not that easy. In fact, Federal Bureau of Investigation statistics for 2007 show only around 6...
Contractor Seeks Claims for Property Damaged by Explosion
Feb 11 2010 // The mayor of the Connecticut town where a power plant was rocked by a fatal explosion says the general contractor building it is asking for property damage claims from neighbors. Middletown Mayor Sebastian Guiliano said...
Dos and Don’ts of Errors and Omissions Lawsuits
Feb 7 2010 // How to Respond and React When Threatened With an E&O Suit Ask any agent who has suffered through an errors and omissions (E&O) suit, and he or she will provide sage-like insight into the professional and even...
Game Day Prediction: Pizzerias and Insurers Win on Super Bowl Sunday
Feb 5 2010 // February 7 — Super Bowl XLIV Sunday — may be the most hyped-up day of the year for football fans, and it’s also the most exciting day of the year for many pizza parlors that see record sales that day. Yet...
Ohio: Average Payout Per Medical Professional Liability Claim Is $252.5K
Feb 3 2010 // In its fourth annual Ohio Medical Professional Liability Closed Claim Report the Ohio Insurance Department shows a total of 3,080 medical professional liability claims were closed in 2008. The amount of compensation paid...
Hurricane Ike Claims Total Nearly $12B in Texas
Jan 29 2010 // Hurricane Ike, which struck Galveston on Sept. 13, 2008, has proved to be the costliest weather catastrophe in Texas history by a large margin. The storm racked up nearly $12 billion in windstorm and flood insurance claims...
Workers’ Comp Costs per Claim in Minnesota Lower than Most States
Jan 29 2010 // Workers’ compensation costs per claim for injured workers in Minnesota are among the lowest of 15 states, according to a new study by the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI). The study by the Cambridge,...
Agricultural Injuries Account for 5.5% of Calif. Workers’ Comp Claims
Jan 27 2010 // Agricultural claims cost the California workers’ compensation system $1.46 billion in loss payments, according to a recent “Industry Scorecard. According to the Scorecard, which provides data on accident year...
