Author Archives: Barry Zalma

“The Passover Seder For Americans” American Jews Can Deal with the Corona Sequestration Because of the Pandemic the standard gathering of family to hear the story of the Exodus will be impossible to be performed because of the governmental sequestration … Continue reading →

Jury’s Verdict Awarding Damages to Plaintiffs Still Appealed Some people cannot even accept the fact that they won their case against an insurance company but were awarded less than they wanted. Believing they had a case worth $5 million in … Continue reading →

The Need to Understand the Mutability of Memory A Video for the Interviewer who Seeks the Truth The Video is available at Zalma on Insurance on YouTube at https://youtu.be/T3hIbdiCY3Y It is important to spend time examining how memory influences the … Continue reading →

Insurance Law Books from Barry Zalma The Insurance Law Deskbook The Insurance Law Deskbook is intended to help law students, practitioners, insurance lawyers, professional claims personnel, insured persons, and anyone else involved in insurance. The book, published for the first … Continue reading →

The Case of the Art Flambe’ A “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” story. See the full video at https://youtu.be/UKdxoI5aPC4 The title, “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” is meant to describe insurance fraud as it works in the Unites … Continue reading →

Intentional Conduct Can Never be an “Occurrence” Because lay people and their lawyers believe insurance is a bottomless pit of money that only needs to be tapped by alleging a facially possible cause for coverage, many meritless lawsuits are filed … Continue reading →

Fictionalized True Insurance Crime Books HEADS I WIN, TAILS YOU LOSE A collection of columns originally published in the magazines “Insurance Journal,” “Insurance Week,” and “The John Cooke Insurance Fraud Report” insurance trade publications serving the insurance community in the … Continue reading →

ZALMA’S INSURANCE FRAUD LETTER – April 1, 2020 Zalma’s Insurance Fraud Letter, Volume 24, No. 7 now available with summary by video at https://youtu.be/fe8RoEE8K6M Some of the articles you can read in this issue of ZIFL follow: Fraudster Need Only … Continue reading →

Insurance Fraud Should not be a Retirement Plan Every insurer is required by its shareholders, members, state statutes and state regulations to do everything possible to deter and defeat attempts at insurance fraud. Most insurers, therefore, have a staff of … Continue reading →

Everything Needed by the Insurance Claims Professional from Barry Zalma Over the last 52 years Barry Zalma has dedicated his life to insurance, insurance claims and the need to defeat insurance fraud. He has created the following library of books … Continue reading →

Clear & Unambiguous Exclusions Defeat Plaintiffs Claims Taking an assignment of a claim against an insurer for a defendant can be the only way to collect a judgment when then insurer refuses to pay for defense or indemnity. However, if … Continue reading →

Acquisition of the Policy See the video from Zalma on Insurance at YouTube at Video link https://youtu.be/j7VdAqKyKLM The person buying insurance may only acquire insurance from an insurer by one of three methods: 1. By meeting with an agent of … Continue reading →

Everything Needed by the Insurance Claims Professional from Barry Zalma Over the last 52 years Barry Zalma has dedicated his life to insurance, insurance claims and the need to defeat insurance fraud. He has created the following library of books … Continue reading →

Judgment Creditor who did not Comply with Policy Condition Had no Coverage A person holding a judgment against a bankrupt can sue the bankrupt’s insurer to recover a judgment if the policy issued to the bankrupt provided coverage for the … Continue reading →

How to Adjust Liability Insurance Claims “Adjusting Liability Claims” a YouTube video Available at Video link https://youtu.be/eBX6IQl8KEc Adjusting liability insurance claims requires skill, patience, knowledge of insurance, basic knowledge of tort and contract law, and knowledge and experience as an … Continue reading →

How to Comply with State Claims Handling Regulations California Fair Claims Settlement Practices Regulations A Guide to Insureds, Public Insurance Adjusters, and Lawyers to Properly Investigate and Adjust Insurance Claims This book was designed to assist insurance personnel who do … Continue reading →

In search of profit, insurers have decimated their professional claims staff. They laid off experienced personnel and replaced them with young, untrained, unprepared people. A virtual clerk replaced the old professional claims handler. Process and computers replaced hands-on human skill … Continue reading →

“All-Risk” is not Synonymous with “All Loss.” The District Court granted summary judgment in favor of the insurance company after a yacht sunk in calm waters at its dock because the yacht’s owners, Mr. and Mrs. Inganamort, did not carry … Continue reading →

Tools for Every Person Interested in Insurance Claims Adjusting Every promise made by an insurance policy can only be kept by claims adjusters and claims investigators working for insurers. Insureds are unable, in almost every situation, to prove a claim … Continue reading →

Threat of a Bad Faith Suit Adds Proof of Fraud An insurer asserts claims against its insured for fraud and unjust enrichment. The Tenth Circuit was asked to determine if Colorado law permits an insurer to recover a settlement payment … Continue reading →

Threat of A Bad Faith Suit Adds Proof of Fraud Policy Obtained by Fraud Requires Insured to Reimburse Insurer for Defense and Indemnity View entire video at https://youtu.be/680jE78g0L4 An insurer asserts claims against its insured for fraud and unjust enrichment. … Continue reading →

The Unintended Consequences of Bad Faith – and Insurance Fraud Every promise made by an insurance policy can only be kept by claims adjusters and claims investigators working for insurers. Insureds are unable, in almost every situation, to prove a … Continue reading →

A True Crime Story About Insurance Fraud Aa video recitation at https://youtu.be/BsUHQmyBYp0 In the last 52 years I have run across many attempts to commit insurance fraud. Some were caught and many more succeeded. In my book “Heads I Win, … Continue reading →

Pretending to be a Lawyer or Acting Like You are One is Wrongful In April 2017, the Wando River Grill (Restaurant) became dissatisfied with the service of its linen supplier (Cintas) and Cintas’ ability to supply the type of linens … Continue reading →

The Law of Unintended Consequences See the full video at Video link https://youtu.be/kTZZp1BS5vw The law of unintended consequences is not statutory. No state or federal government has enacted it into law. No executive has signed the law. It is, rather, … Continue reading →

Everything Needed by the Insurance Claims Professional from Barry Zalma Every promise made by an insurance policy can only be kept by claims adjusters and claims investigators working for insurers. Insureds are unable, in almost every situation, to prove a … Continue reading →

Taxes are not Part of the Actual Cash Value of an Automobile In an attempt to create a class action two plaintiffs whose vehicles were total losses in an insured against accident claimed that the insurer should pay for the … Continue reading →

A False Statement at EUO Voids Coverage See the entire video at the following Video link at https://youtu.be/tH_TRrpTqlI Where a plaintiff admits to making false statements with the intent that his insurer rely on those statements, the issue of whether … Continue reading →

An Indispensable Tool for Every Claims Office to Keep the Promises Made by the Insurance Policy Every promise made by an insurance policy can only be kept by claims adjusters and claims investigators working for insurers. Insureds are unable, in … Continue reading →

The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act Shortly after midnight on May 3, 2014, Terence Williams was seriously injured when his vehicle rolled over in a single-vehicle accident. Williams’ most serious injuries were to his lower body. He was … Continue reading →

A YouTube Video Reporting on Recent Health Insurance Fraud Convictions No one knows how much insurance fraud takes from the public health insurance programs and insurance companies, because most succeed. The best guess is that it is a $80 billion … Continue reading →

Everything Needed by the Insurance Claims Professional from Barry Zalma Over the last 51 years Barry Zalma has dedicated his life to insurance, insurance claims and the need to defeat insurance fraud. He has created the following library of books … Continue reading →

Claim Must Establish Fulfillment of the Insuring Agreement Insurance policies are nothing more than a contract. To interpret the terms of the contract of insurance it is necessary to read, and apply, all of the provisions of the policy. In … Continue reading →

The Ethical Practice of Law – A YouTube Video See the video “The Ethical Practice of Law, at the Video link https://youtu.be/bi6Gp9WHA7U The practice of law demands more than knowledge of statutory and case law. It requires more than technical … Continue reading →

Barry Zalma’s Books from the ABA and ThomsonReuters Books from the American Bar Association The Commercial Property Insurance Policy Deskbook How to Acquire a Commercial Property Policy and Present and Collect a First-Party Property Insurance Claim By Barry Zalma The … Continue reading →

Agent or Broker Not Liable for Failing to Force Insured to Order Workers’ Comp Assignment of Bad Faith Case to Plaintiff Worthless Whenever an insurer refuses to defend or indemnify an insured because of clear and unambiguous exclusions – or … Continue reading →

Mold: The Ubiquitous Problem What is Mold? The book, Mold Claims, available at https://www.zalma.com/blog/insurance-claims-library/ and amazon.com. See the entire video at the Video link https://youtu.be/3Avu5EhVixk Mold Claims was written to help anyone faced with claims for property damage or bodily … Continue reading →

New Books from Full Court Press The earnings of almost every civil lawyer in the United States are funded by the insurance industry. Insurance can best be described as the mother’s milk of the law profession. The civil defense lawyer … Continue reading →

 Jail for Fraud but Restitution Must be Recalculated Fraud perpetrators are usually not willing to accept their punishment on the small chance that they are caught, arrested, tried and convicted. They appeal everything including their punishment. In United States Of … Continue reading →

Fictionalized True Insurance Crime Books HEADS I WIN, TAILS YOU LOSE A collection of columns originally published in the magazines “Insurance Journal,” “Insurance Week,” and “The John Cooke Insurance Fraud Report” insurance trade publications serving the insurance community in the … Continue reading →