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

How Car, Home Inflation Is Driving Up Loss Costs for Insurers

The two possessions that most concern insurers — homes and motor vehicles — happen to be the largest contributors to the historic 7.5% inflation rate announced last week. Perhaps that should be no surprise. “It’s the things that we all …

5th Circuit: Windstorm Coverage Doesn’t Include Flood Damage

An insurance policy that lists named windstorms among the covered perils doesn’t cover flood damages caused by Hurricane Harvey even though flooding wasn’t specifically excluded, a panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday. The panel reversed a …

Insurers Deploy Predictive Analytics, Artificial Intelligence in Fraud Fight

Insurers are getting a larger share of suspicious claim referrals from fraud-detection technology and are increasingly using artificial intelligence to sift through data, according to a new study by the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud and SAS. The Insurance Fraud Technology …

Missouri Man Pleads Guilty in Arson, Insurance Fraud Scheme

A Kansas City-area man has pleaded guilty to an arson and insurance fraud scheme that allegedly destroyed three houses from 2013 to 2019. Wandale J. Fulton, 40, was accused of conspiring with six others to buy houses, create fake lease …

Insurers Deploy Predictive Analytics, Artificial Intelligence in Fraud Fight

Insurers are getting a larger share of suspicious claim referrals from fraud-detection technology and are increasingly using artificial intelligence to sift through data, according to a new study by the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud and SAS. The Insurance Fraud Technology …

Carolina Supreme Court Limits Damages from Needle Stick in Target Parking Lot

Carla Denise Garrison’s 8-year-old daughter picked up a used hypodermic needle from the parking lot outside a Target store and asked, “Mommy, what is this?” Garrison instinctively swatted the syringe away, poking her daughter’s palm in the process. The puncture …

Workplace Class Action Settlement Costs Reached $3.6B in 2021

The cost of settling workplace class-action lawsuits reached a record high in 2021, defying expectations that the COVID-19 pandemic would decrease the size and reduce the number of payouts, according to a new report by the Seyfarth Shaw law firm …

Doctors, Police Officer Among 13 Indicted in Alleged $100M Auto Insurance Scam

Federal prosecutors have charged 13 people—including a New York City police officer, an attorney and four physicians—in two indictments that allege they schemed to defraud auto insurers out of $100 million by bribing 911 operators and others for access to …

The $1M Bad Faith Case and the Missed Deadline

Darryl A. Vachon did not accuse Travelers of bad faith in handling his $25,000 uninsured motorist claim until after a jury found he had incurred $1,022,780 in damages. Because he didn’t, the insurer must now defend itself against a million-dollar …

Reinsurer Says U.S. Should Regulate $17 Billion Litigation Funding Industry

Litigation funding has become a $17 billion industry globally, with 52% of that money being spent in the United States, Swiss Re said in a recent report. The reinsurer said third-party litigation funding (TPLF) is increasing the number of “outsize” …