Author Archives: Barry Zalma

Full Court Press: Zalma on Property and Casualty Insurance, Insurance Law Deskbook, California Insurance Law Deskbook, and Insurance Bad Faith and Punitive Damages Deskbook Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, an insurance claims expert, has created a library of insurance claims books … Continue reading →

Careful Pleading Requires Defense When Evidence Does Not Courts like those in Florida that apply the four corners rule of insurance contract interpretation of the duty to defend allow a plaintiff’s lawyer to skillfully draw a complaint that will require … Continue reading →

Random Thoughts on Insurance and Fictionalized True Insurance Crime Books Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, an insurance claims expert, has created a library of insurance claims books and other materials to make it possible for insurers and their claims staff to … Continue reading →

Recommendation of Contractor by Insurer not Employment of Contractor I’ve been involved in insurance claims for more than 51 years and it is invariable that even when an insurer does everything required of it by a policy of insurance the … Continue reading →

Rejection of UM/UIM Coverage by Named Insured Binding on Driver Every state requires insurers to offer uninsured motorist (UM) and underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage when issuing a liability insurance policy. The statutes do not require the insured to buy the … Continue reading →

California Fair Claims Settlement Practices Regulations; California SIU Regulations; Ethics for the Insurance Professional;  Rescission of Insurance and The Insurance Examination Under Oath Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, an insurance claims expert, has created a library of insurance claims books and … Continue reading →

PROPOSED CHANGES TO CALIFORNIA SIU REGULATIONS In the first issue of the Coalition’s government affairs leadership publication for 2019 the Coalition warned against a proposed change in SIU Regulations in California that I warned about in an earlier issue of … Continue reading →

Insurance Fraud & Weapons to Defeat Fraud; The Compact Book of Adjusting Property Claims – Second Edition; and The Compact Book of Adjusting Liability Claims – Second Edition Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, an insurance claims expert, has created a library … Continue reading →

Assignment Gamble Fails When Court Finds Intentional Act Defeats Coverage April seems to be the month where creditors who gambled on recovering from an insurer rather than the tortfeasor, failed. Litigation is, and should always be, a place to resolve … Continue reading →

Construction Defects and Insurance; Mold Claims; and Time to Rescind the Tort of Bad Faith Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, an insurance claims expert, has created a library of insurance claims books and other materials to make it possible for insurers … Continue reading →

Intentional Act Can Never be Basis for Defense or Indemnity from Insurer Liability insurance, by definition, will only respond to provide defense or indemnity to an insured who has caused injury to a third person of the injury was the … Continue reading →

The Essential Resource for The Insurance Fraud Professional Insurance Fraud Is Epidemic The following was adapted from the Introduction to my book, “Insurance Fraud & Weapons to Defeat Insurance Fraud” available in two volumes as a Kindle book or a … Continue reading →

The Passover Seder For Americans Passover is one of the many holidays Jewish people celebrate to help them remember the importance of G_d in their lives. We see the animals, the oceans, the rivers, the mountains, the rain, sun, the … Continue reading →

Sworn Statement in Bankruptcy Filing Contradicts Sworn Insurance Claim Implied in every contract of insurance is a covenant of good faith and fair dealing that neither party would do anything to deprive the other of the benefits of the insurance … Continue reading →

The Insurance Claims Library – A Necessity for Every Insurance Educator, Claims Manager or Insurance Law Firm Over the last 51 years Barry Zalma has dedicated his life to insurance, insurance claims and the need to defeat insurance fraud. He … Continue reading →

Fulfillment of a Warranty Must Be Proved by Person Making Insurance Claim Insurance warranties are material promises made by an insured that are essential to the effective use of an insurance policy. Failure to fulfill the warranty is a breach … Continue reading →

Ten Volumes of “Zalma on Insurance Claims,” “The Homeowners Insurance Policy” and Seven Volumes of “Commentary on Insurance Law” (COIL) Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, an insurance claims expert, has created a library of insurance claims books and other materials to … Continue reading →

Insurance Contract’s Waiver of Subrogation by Insured Defeats Suit The American Institute of Architects construction contract is, like almost all construction contracts, a contract with the goal to transfer the risk of construction-related losses to insurers and preclude lawsuits among … Continue reading →

Zalma Claims Books from Full Court Press, ClaimSchool, Inc., the American Bar Association, and Thompson Reuters Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, an insurance claims expert, has created a library of insurance claims books and other materials to make it possible for … Continue reading →

Jury Trial Required to Obtain Judgment for Violation of the New Jersey Insurance Frauds Protection Act The most effective deterrent to insurance fraud is to force the perpetrators to pay damages to the victims, the insurers. Allstate Insurance sued many … Continue reading →

Five True Crime Stories of Insurance Fraud Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, an insurance claims expert, has created a library of insurance claims books and other materials to make it possible for insurers and their claims staff to become insurance claims … Continue reading →

“Chutzpah” – Lawyer in Civil Fraud Trial Threatened Opposing Counsel to Gain Advantage – Appeals Minimal Sanction “Chutzpah” is a Yiddish word meaning unmitigated gall. It is defined as the action of a person who who is convicted of murdering … Continue reading →

The Compact Book on Adjusting Liability Claims – Second Edition, California Fair Claims Settlement Practices Regulations, California SIU Regulations, Ethics for the Insurance Professional, Rescission of Insurance and The Examination Under Oath Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, an insurance claims expert, … Continue reading →

It is the Obligation of Homeowner to Prove Cost of Forced Placed Insurance was Excessive No one likes to pay insurance premiums. People simply hate paying the premium on a policy forced placed by a mortgagee.  Homeowners, with a mortgage … Continue reading →

Insurance Fraud & Weapons to Defeat Fraud and the Compact Book on Adjusting Property Claims – Second Edition Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, an insurance claims expert, has created a library of insurance claims books and other materials to make it … Continue reading →

Decision of ERISA will not be Reversed if Supported by the Evidence Long Term Disability Claims under an ERISA plan can be appealed to federal courts who can set aside the decision of the ERISA plan administrator only if it … Continue reading →

Construction Defect and Insurance, Mold Claims and Time to Rescind the Tort of Bad Faith Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, an insurance claims expert, has created a library of insurance claims books and other materials to make it possible for insurers and … Continue reading →

The Purpose of the Suit-limitation Clause Is to Preclude Stale Claims, Require the Insured’s Diligence, and Prevent Fraud The law protects the diligent and ignores those who are slothful in the exercise of their rights. Insurance policies, including the mandatory … Continue reading →

A Primer For The First Party Property Claims Adjuster. The new second edition of The Compact Book of Adjusting Property Claims is now available. It has bee updated with new case law citations and has been rewritten to make it … Continue reading →

Adjusting Liability Claims The following is adapted from the new Second Edition of the Compact Book of Adjusting Liability Claims that will be available shortly on Amazon.com. Adjusting liability insurance claims requires skill, patience, knowledge of insurance, basic knowledge of … Continue reading →

The Homeowners Insurance Policy and Zalma on Insurance Claims Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, an insurance claims expert, has created a library of insurance claims books and other materials to make it possible for insurers and their claims staff to become … Continue reading →

More Insurers Adopt Advanced Analytics to Combat Growing Insurance Fraud   Zalma’s Insurance Fraud Letter, Volume 23, No.7  Some of the articles you can read in this issue of ZIFL follow.: Predictive analytics tops list of new insurer tech use, AI … Continue reading →

The Compact Book of Adjusting Property Insurance Claims – Second Edition and Commentary on Insurance Law Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, an insurance claims expert, has created a library of insurance claims books and other materials to make it possible for … Continue reading →

The U.S. Loves its Immigrants and Those Who Want to Become Citizens Unless They Are Felons Becoming citizens of the United States was one of the proudest moments in the live of my parents. Although they are gone to their … Continue reading →

Insurance Claims Books for those Engaged in the Insurance Business Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, an insurance claims expert, has created a library of insurance claims books and other materials to make it possible for insurers and their claims staff to … Continue reading →

It’s Not Nice to Sell Fake Policies and Tamper with Witnesses Patricia Sledge created fake AFLAC policies and claims and profited, as an agent of AFLAC, in amounts exceeding four million dollars. She was caught, tried before a jury, convicted … Continue reading →

Insurance for Fun and Profit Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, and insurance claims expert has created the following library of insurance claims books and other materials to make it possible for insurers and their claims staff to become insurance claims professionals. … Continue reading →

No Need for, Nor Right to, Indemnity – No Damages Insurance is a risk transfer device. Construction contracts also act as risk transfer devices since they include indemnity agreements and requirements for additional insured endorsements in favor of the owner … Continue reading →

California Fair Claims Settlement & SIU Regulations, Ethics, the Examination Under Oath and Rescission of Insurance Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, and insurance claims expert has created the following library of insurance claims books and other materials to make it possible … Continue reading →

Insured Must First Prove Loss to Vessel was Fortuitous By definition insurance only protects against contingent or unknown events that are, therefore, fortuitous. That is, anything that happens suddenly, accidentally or by chance. When a loss to property, the risk … Continue reading →