Insurer Is Required to Pay for Insurance Crimes
Insurers are compelled by statute and regulation to maintain Special Fraud Investigation Units and a detailed anti-fraud program. The California Department of Insurance audits insurers regularly to ensure that each insurer works
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Insurance 101 – Chapter 16 Volume 87 – Is the Fight Against Fraud Being Lost?
Is the Fight Against Fraud Being Lost?
Fraud is taking more money every year from the insurance-buying public. Insurers complain that the local district attorneys and police agencies give a low priority to the crime. Insurers must defeat this metastasizing…
Insurance 101 – Chapter 16 Volume 86 – Insurers as Victims of Fraud
Insurers as Victims of Fraud
In State v. Cross, No. E2001-02724-CCA-R3-CD (Tenn. Crim. App. 08/12/2002), the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals was faced with a defendant who claimed that an insurer, for purposes of criminal restitution, could not be the…
Insurance 101 – Chapter 16 Volume 85 – Participation of the Victim in Investigations
Participation of the Victim in Investigations
One recent case demonstrates how the victim’s cooperation can lead to a successful prosecution. In Int’l Bus. Machs. Corp. v. Brown, 857 F. Supp. 1384 (N.D. Cal. 1994), IBM brought suit against individual and…
Insurance 101 – Chapter 16 Volume 84 – Victims in the Criminal Process
Victims in the Criminal Process
Prosecutors often rely on crime victims as crucial sources of information and may choose to make use of victim information and resources in making prosecutorial decisions. While prosecutors represent the government (not the crime victims)…
Insurance 101 – Chapter 16 Volume 83 – More on the Discretion of the Prosecutor
More on the Discretion of the Prosecutor
urts are loathe to interfere with prosecutors’ judgments. The criminal defendant tries to challenge a prosecutor’s (or an entire prosecutor’s office) participation in an insurance fraud prosecution. The standard for prosecutorial disqualification is…
Insurance 101 – Chapter 16 Volume 82 – Discretion of the Prosecutor
Discretion of the Prosecutor
In the criminal justice system, the prosecutor bears responsibility for determining what crimes will be prosecuted. The legal system has traditionally allowed wide discretion to criminal prosecutors in the enforcement process. The Government retains broad discretion…
Insurance 101 – Chapter 16 Volume 81 – Private Financing
Private Financing
The trend toward private financing of criminal prosecutions raise a concern that it creates a preference to seek criminal justice only for the wealthy. With the courts and criminal defense attorneys are concerned that “[i]ndividuals of limited means,…
Insurance 101 – Chapter 16 Volume 80 – Victims Rights
Victims Rights
In People v. Eubanks (1996) 14 Cal.4th 580, the California Supreme Court found that Penal Code section 1424, subdivision (a)(1) provides the standard for prosecutor recusals: “The motion may not be granted unless the evidence shows that a…
Insurance 101 – Chapter 16 Volume 79 – The Role of Victims in Criminal Investigations and Prosecutions
The Role of Victims in Criminal Investigations and Prosecutions
The Right of the Victim to Assist the Prosecutor
Insurance fraud is a major component of white-collar crime. It is slowly becoming a more significant component of the law-enforcement agenda. The…