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Unfair Claims Settlement Practices

Joan Deimling

Joan Deimling has over thirty years’ experience in the insurance industry in policy rating, customer service and claims. She has been responsible for the supervision of policy issuance, commercial rating both liability and property as well as worker’s compensation and customer service. Joan’s customer service knowledge and skill set benefits clients in managing customer accounts…

CMR Suit

Chantal M. Roberts

I am dedicated to providing trustworthy, valuable assistance in order to give my clients a clear understanding of claims standards and practices. As an expert witness, I strive to turn this complex topic into an easy to understand concept. Known for my honest and direct approach, I work hard to meet each of your individual…

Damian J. Arguello

Damian is an insurance coverage attorney, expert witness, and former adjunct law professor whose legal practice focuses on representing and counseling commercial policyholders, business and trial attorneys, and insurance agents and brokers regarding insurance issues. In his consulting and expert witness practice, Damian also draws from his pre-law school experience as a claims adjuster for…

Podcast: Claim Ramifications of Keodalah v. Allstate Decision in Washington State

THE CLAIMS JOURNAL interviewed AAIMCo member Kevin Quinley on claim ramifications of the 2018 Keodalah v. Allstate decision, allowing adjusters to be added as individual defendants in bad faith lawsuits.

Claim Auditing

The claims audit is the anathema of day-to-day claim operations. Nothing is more disruptive. Yet, if properly defined, nothing is more informative and helpful in improving a claim management program. This article will examine the need for a regular auditing program and provide a recipe for a three-dimensional approach to the process in order to maximize the accuracy of the audit results.

The need to conduct regular claims audits has already been widely discussed. With the magnitude of self-insured claims programs (including self-funded programs) and the millions of dollars spent on claim administration fees, what better way to verify whether the money spent has been justified or wasted? In essence, an audit of closed and open claims should accomplish several things.

“Ten Claim-Handling Lessons from `The Game of Thrones'”

Kevin extracts insights from HBO’s popular series and sees implications for how claim professionals approach the challenges in their work.

Shinning A Light On Insurer Misconduct

A uniform law proposed by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is currently working its way through state legislatures. The Corporate Governance Annual Disclosure Model Act[i] would require American insurers to disclose a wide range of information relating to their governance, performance evaluation systems, compensation and incentive plans, Enterprise Risk Management (“ERM”) plans and codes of ethics and conduct. This article will highlight some of the important features of the NAIC’s model act and illuminate how they are designed to cloak insurer disclosures in secrecy, but at the same time provide compelling evidence of information whose existence insurers have long denied. Discarding the secrecy mandated by the model act and allowing access to the disclosed information will help discourage insurer misconduct long hidden from the insuring public.

[i] http://www.naic.org/store/free/MDL-305.pdf.

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Pauline Thomas

EXPERIENCE Agent / Broker / Producer Standard of care, underwriting, insurance policy coverage interpretation, claims, good faith, bad faith Property, liability, WC, inland & wet marine, commercial & personal lines, self-insurance, risk management Interpretation of clauses in lease agreements, construction, PEO & other contracts, additional insureds, certificates Help professionals & laypersons understand insurance & risk…

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