claims adjuster News

Claims Fraud: Maryland, California and Florida

Maryland A Maryland claims adjuster pleaded guilty to one count of theft after she was caught manipulating auto insurance claims so she could steal from her employers, Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown’s office said Thursday. Laurelle Monet Manley-Williams, 34, …

Claims Adjuster Forfeits Beach House, Will Serve Prison Time for Fraud Scheme

A former Allstate claims adjuster will spend one year and a day in prison and forfeit his beach house and pickup truck to the federal government after pleading guilty to wire fraud and money laundering. Federal prosecutors say 51-year-old Paul …

Fla. Claims Adjuster Arrested, Accused of $11M Insurance Fraud Scheme

Additional arrests are expected after a 41-year-old south Florida claims adjuster was charged this week in an elaborate scheme that allegedly rang up more than $11 million in fraudulent insurance payments to hundreds of co-conspirators. Florida’s Department of Financial Services …

Fla. Claims Adjuster Charged with Filing $24K in Fraudulent Auto Claims

Florida investigators have charged a former Progressive Insurance claims adjuster with fraud, alleging that she used claimants’ identities to submit fraudulent auto claims, then pocketed almost $24,000 in settlements. Kiyuana R. Pasley, 41, of Homestead, was an adjuster at Progressive …

Adjuster’s Lawsuit Accuses UPC of Altering Hurricane Damage Estimates

The practice of insurance companies revising independent adjusters’ damage reports may be as widespread in Louisiana as it is in Florida, according to adjusters and a plaintiffs’ attorney who has filed a lawsuit over it. “They changed my estimate completely. …

Colo. Supreme Rules Adjuster Can’t Be Held Personally Liable for Denied Claim

A Colorado law that allows claimants to collect double coverage if a claim is unreasonably denied or delayed does not allow plaintiffs to hold claims adjusters personally liable, the state Supreme Court decided Monday. In a unanimous decision, the high …

Viewpoint: Adopt a ‘Need-to-Know’ Approach to Avoid Nuclear Verdicts

The last claim settlement I wrote was considered a bargain at $5 million, half of the $10 million amount that would be deemed a “nuclear verdict.” According to VerdictSearch, nuclear verdicts have increased 300% since 2019. Adjusters can take action …

Growing Use of ‘Unlicensed Surrogates’ Worries Policyholder Attorney

Can insurers resolve claims more efficiently by dispatching specialist vendors instead of claims adjusters to determine the cause of loss and the replacement value? Some experts say so. But policyholder attorney Chip Merlin of Tampa, Fla. posits in an Oct. …

Plaintiff Must Prove Use of Mitchell Program Violated Collateral Source Rule

For the second time in a year, a federal judge rejected a plaintiff’s attorney’s argument that an insurance carrier acted in bad faith by using the Mitchell Decision Point program when calculating the value of a Colorado policyholder’s underinsured motorist …

RiskStream Hoping Insurers Share FNOL Data on Blockchain

A research team funded by insurance carriers will soon launch a system that uses block chain technology to allow claims adjusters from multiple insurers to share access to a single first notice of loss. The RiskStream Collaborative said that it …