Articles by Jim Sams

Sams is editor of ClaimsJournal.com, the online resource and daily newsletter for property/casualty insurance claims professionals. ClaimsJournal is a member of the Wells Media Group. Sams can be reached at jsams@wellsmedia.com

Kansas High Court Reverses $3.4M Bad Faith Judgment Against Insurer

An insurer’s duty to act in good faith and with reasonable care does not necessarily include a requirement to begin settlement negotiations before a claim is filed, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled. The high court affirmed a panel decision by …

Insurers Leery of Hyundais and Kias Famous on Social Media for Being Easy to Steal

Social media influencers and an insurance industry think tank are giving Hyundai and Kia vehicles the worst kind of publicity: Many of the cars the company sold are easy to steal. In the past week, newspapers and television news producers …

Wisc. Court: Homicide Conviction Doesn’t Mean Baby’s Death Wasn’t an Accident

The mother of a baby girl who was killed by her father may pursue a claim against the father’s insurer because of unresolved questions, including whether the death was an accident, a divided Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Thursday. In a …

Attorney for La. Insurer Says Firm Working with Contractors to Find New Hurricane Claimants

An insurance defense attorney accuses the McClenny Moseley & Associates law firm of teaming up with restoration contractors to illegally acquire clients, which sometimes resulted in duplicate lawsuits being filed against insurers for claimants who were already represented by other …

Report Says Social Inflation Adds Up to 11% to Physician Malpractice Claims

Social inflation accounts for 8% to 11% of all medical malpractice losses for carriers that insure physicians, according to an actuarial analysis commissioned by The Doctors Co. TDC hired Moore Actuarial Consulting to estimate how much insurers’ average losses are …

Louisiana Police Arrest Tx. Public Adjuster Accused of Pocketing Clients’ Checks

Louisiana State Police arrested a Texas public adjuster for allegedly pocketing $592,000 from settlement checks that were intended for seven former clients by forging the homeowners’ signatures. Andrew Joseph Mitchell, 43, voluntarily surrendered to state police at the St. Charles …

Exclusive Remedy Bars Uninsured Motorist Coverage for Crash — S. Carolina High Court

If Stephany Connelly had not been working, she may have been entitled to collect up to $350,000 in uninsured motorist benefits because of the injuries she suffered from a 2015 car crash. But she was working at the time of …

Alabama Home Builder’s Negligence Not Covered by Liability Policy, 11th Circuit Says

An Alabama judge awarded Robert and Mindy Barton $900,000 for actual damages and emotional distress caused by the botched construction of their custom home, but the couple won’t be able to collect that judgment from the homebuilder’s general liability insurer. …

No Coverage for Food Plant’s $2M Cost to Avoid Shutdown, Potential BI Claim

Ken’s Foods would likely have filed a $10 million business-interruption claim had it not spent $2 million to upgrade its wastewater treatment system, the company’s lawyer says. That doesn’t mean its insurer has a common-law duty to reimburse the company …

Insurer vs. Insurer: Appeals Court Affirms Bad Faith Verdict in Florida Work Injury Case

After a job-site injury left independent contractor Ernest Guthrie paralyzed below the waist, two insurers for the contractor that hired him agreed to pay the full policy limits — $1 million each — only one month after receiving a payment …