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Cavalcade of Risk #131: All Things Risk

Welcome to the Cavalcade of Risk blog carnival, an aggregation of some of the best risk management and insurance-related blog posts out there. Before I get to the rundown of posts, thanks go out to David E. Williams at Health Business Blog for his insightful hosting of Cavalcade of Risk #130.

  • Let us begin with Dave Ingram‘s post regarding risk management entertainment systems (RMES), where he states, “The Risk Management Entertainment Systems create a very strong impression that ERM is a talking and paper shuffling activity.  A waste of scarce corporate time, resources and dollars. ERM needs to be about action.  If in the end, ERM does not result in any changes to a firm’s treatment of risks or selection of risks, then there was no real business reason for ERM.”
  • Claire Wilkinson writes about protecting your personal information on Terms + Conditions, the Insurance Information Institute’s blog regarding all things risk and insurance. She states, “the average organizational cost of a data breach increased to $7.2 million in 2010 and cost companies an average of $214 per compromised record up from $204 in 2009.”

And a few more from around the blogoshpere:

The next host is Russell Hutchinson at Chatswood Consulting — he’ll host the 5th anniversary edition of Cavalcade of Risk on June 1st. Don’t miss it!

Florida Sinkhole Claims Skyrocket

It seems the entire state of Florida is slowly caving in as more and more sinkholes appear throughout the sunshine state, resulting in a tripling of insurance claims in five years. According to a new state report, for the years 2006 through 2010, sinkhole claims have cost Florida property insurers $1.4 billion — a number that could reach $2 billion by the end of this year.

The report, authored by the state’s Office of Insurance Regulation, says sinkhole costs increased from $209 million in 2006 to $409 million in 2009, with the largest share of the total expense coming from structured loss (54%) and land loss (27%). In 2006, open claims totaled more than $3.3 million for expenses paid and $13.6 million for indemnity. By 2009, these numbers increased drastically to $29.5 million and $114.6 million respectively.

“There is no question that the tripling of frequency of claims will have a significant expense associated with adjusting these claims in Florida and will continue to put upward pressure on rates,” [state Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty] said Tuesday.

The bulk of the claims come from an area known as the Sinkhole belt — Hernando, Pasco, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. McCarty has cited sinkholes as one of the major cost drivers of insurance premiums in the state. As a solution to the problem, McCarty is looking into changing policy language regarding the definition of structural damages or possibly creating a sinkhole insurance fund. Though McCarty and his team are brainstorming ways to deal with sinkholes without raising insurance rates, an increase is likely unavoidable. The state’s largest property insurer, Citizens Property Insurance, cited the cost of sinkhole claims in requesting a rate increase for next year. The insurer said it took in $19.6 million in premiums for sinkhole coverage in 2009 but has paid out $97 million in claims cost.

Here’s a well-crafted news clip from a Central Florida station about the growing number of sinkholes and the importance of insurance coverage.

What to Do When You Receive a Reservation of Rights Letter

In this month’s online-only column from Anderson Kill & Olick, David Shaneyfelt provides his top 10 tips for when you receive a reservation of rights letter from your insurance company.

1. Offer immediate disagreement. Write back to say you disagree and indicate you will follow up later. Avoid saying nothing, as your silence could be used against you, especially if you find this language buried in teh letter: “Unless we hear otherwise, we assume you agree with out approach.”

2. Consult your own counsel immediately. If the claim is large enough, count on your insurance company looking for ways to deny it. If so, retain counsel immediately to press your claim.

3. Request commitment before investigation. If your insurance company wants to investigate before committing to coverage, request a commitment first. You want to minimize the possibility they will build a coverage case against you.

For the rest of the list, don’t miss this online exclusive, only on RMmagazine.com.

A Spike in Insurance Fraud Across the U.S.

As you may have guessed, the country’s economic conditions have caused a nationwide spike in insurance fraud.

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A recently released report by the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud points to the economy and continuous pressures on state budgets as the reason for a spike in fraud cases.

Overall, the economy in 2009 appears to have had a significant impact on the incidence of fraud.

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On average, fraud bureaus reported the number of referrals received and cases opened increased in all 15 categories of fraud

included in the survey.

Overall, the economy in 2009 appears to have had a significant impact on the incidence of fraud. On average, fraud bureaus reported the number of referrals received and cases opened increased in all 15 categories of fraud included in the survey.

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Those 15 categories of fraud are:

  1. Agent fraud
  2. Auto – staged
  3. Auto – padding/false claim
  4. Auto – give up
  5. Commercial – arson
  6. Disability
  7. Drug diversion
  8. Homeowners – arson
  9. Homeowners – padding/fake
  10. Liability – false claim
  11. Life insurance
  12. Medical – false claims
  13. Work comp – worker
  14. Work comp – employer
  15. Bogus health insurance/discount health plans

The biggest number of fraud cases occurred in the area of bogus health insurance. The report pointed to the reported rise in unauthorized entities selling fake coverage combined with the emergence of medical discount plans as the reason for the dramatic spike in this area.

Drug diversion came in second with survey respondents pointing to the fact that fraud involving the diversion of prescription drugs, mainly painkillers, appears to continuously increase — a trend over the last few years.