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Types of First Party Property Fraud   

https://zalma.com/blog

Every first-party property adjuster will face in his or her career  attempts to defraud the insurer for whom the adjuster works. It is  necessary that the adjuster is aware of each type of property insurance  fraud he or she may encounter. Some, but surely not all, fraud types  follow:  Arson for Profit  Arson is the intentional burning of property. It no longer is limited to  specific types of property. Although perhaps the most dangerous of all  methods of insurance fraud, people continue to attempt insurance fraud  by burning their homes, vehicles, and business structures.  The Staged Theft  The staged or fake residential theft where the insured reports the theft  of property from a residence or business when none actually occurred.  In U.S. v. Tam, 240 F.3d 797, 2001 Daily Journal D.A.R. 885, three  defendants were convicted of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and to  transport stolen cars in foreign commerce, mail fraud, and transporting  stolen cars in foreign commerce, and two of them were also convicted of  conspiracy to launder money, following a jury trial. The appellate court  concluded evidence was sufficient to support one defendant\'s  convictions.  Staged Water Damage or Mold Claim  Where the insured intentionally promotes damage by wetting down the  residence or business property with a hose or disconnecting a plumbing  fixture to generate water damage and encourage mold growth.  A staged loss, regardless of the type, is fraud. Even if no claim is  filed an insured can be accused of attempted fraud and face criminal  penalties. For example, in a New York case, a man gave his car keys to a  third party who was to sell or otherwise dispose of the car. The  insured was told by the third party to file a fraudulent claim against  his own policy and claim that the car was stolen. After reporting the  theft, the insured became frightened and did not move forward with the  claim.  Post-Dating a Loss  This fraud technique involves a loss at a time when an individual has no  insurance or inadequate insurance.  Following the loss, the individual applies for insurance, or increases  the limits of existing coverage, so he or she has sufficient insurance  to cover the loss. After a period of time (usually several weeks), a  fraudulent claim is submitted for a loss reported to have happened after  the new policy came into effect.  \\xa9 2021 \\u2013 Barry Zalma