The Accident Date Switcheroo

Much of the excess personal auto losses that carriers incur involved manipulations after the policy is bound. One such ‘cheat’ is when […]

The “Just Asking” Gambit

Assumption Customers making inquiries aren’t risks—they’re just confused. Reality Repeat “what if” calls about coverage are often pre-loss rehearsals—and should be treated like soft […]

The Vengeful Risk

Assumption Denied claims end the story. Reality Some customers don’t give up—they escalate. Reframe. Refile. Shift lines. The So What “Denial revenge” is real. And […]

The Deductible Dodger

Assumption Small claims below the deductible means a responsible risk. Reality Or it means a customer who tries to claim for every minor event […]

The Vanishing Claim

Assumption – No claim payout means ‘no problem’. Reality – Not every closed-without-pay claim is harmless. Sometimes it’s a “test balloon” for […]

Hidden Pre-existing Damage

Some customers only purchase ‘Comprehensive and Collision’ Insurance when they have damage that they want repaired. This ‘pre-existing damage’ fraud is a […]

Garaging Fraud

“Garaging Fraud” is where a policyholder claims to garage their car in a low risk area to reduce their premium. An example […]

Ghost Broker Fraud

A ‘Ghost Broker’ is an unauthorized person who helps drivers get legally required auto proof of insurance for a fee. Typically, the […]

Workers comp: The ‘Volunteer’

A common fraud in the WC insurance space is undercounting or overcounting “volunteers”. In most states, volunteers are not automatically covered by […]

Class code chicanery

A common underwriting fraud in WC is allocating employees to the wrong class code. For example, an auto repair shop saying they […]

Workers Comp: Lowballing Headcounts

One common form of rate manipulation in WC is lowballing the employee count at policy inception. While an audit (usually 13 to […]

Water Wishful Thinking

Underwriting Assumption: “It says hydrant within 1,000 feet. Good protection class. Let’s move on.” Reality: I drove the street, squinted, then laughed out loud. […]