What’s New: In Brief (April 29, 2009)

The number of questionable — and perhaps fraudulent — claims is on the rise as the economy continues to falter, according to a new report from the National Insurance Crime Bureau.
There is a definite increase in claims related to “opportunistic fraud,” as seen in an analysis of questionable claims submitted by more than 1,000 NICB member companies in 2009 Q1 versus 2008 Q1, according to an NICB release.
On the property side, hail damage topped the list of the largest percentage change of claims referrals between 2008 Q1 and 2009 Q1, with an increase of 407%. Fire and arson accounted for a smaller increase of only 6%, according to the report.
When looking at casualty referral reasons, the largest change was seen in slip and falls, with an increase of 60% over 2008 Q1.
Under commercial policies, there were 77% more submitted questionable slip and fall claims submitted.
Staged/caused accidents saw a 34% increase in Q1 2009 over the same period in 2008.

Cunningham Lindsey Canada Claims Services Ltd has added two new members to its business development team.
Ami Barilla was appointed director of sales and marketing for the western region in early April.
Andrew Rayner joined Cunningham Lindsey as the director of sales and marketing last week.
“Both Ami and Andrew have proven abilities to develop sales potential in new market areas while growing existing market share,” said Albert Poon, vice president of strategic business development and claims management services at CL. “We anticipate they will serve both CL and our customers well.”