Claims Magazine June 2006
Features
Accident Reconstruction from the Outside In
Evidence such as damage, principle direction of force, hair, and blood speaks volumes about how an accident occurred.
Features
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Event Data Recorders' Role in Accident Reconstruction
One sunny spring morning, on a rural road just outside of Houston, Texas, Molly Jackson, a vibrant 16-year-old girl with a bright future and a new driver's license, was behind the wheel.
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ASCR Cleanup Guidelines for Adjusters and Volunteers
Adjusters and volunteers returning from working along the Gulf Coast region have brought more than just the feeling of a job well done with them.
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Musings of a Forensic Engineer
Scientists on television's medical forensic dramas can solve crime in less than an hour.
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Thermography Acts as Water Detective
Thermography is the use of an infrared imaging and measurement camera to see and measure thermal energy emitted from an object.
Columns
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The Acid Test
This one just doesn't meet the "acid test" of insurance contract interpretation, pun intended.
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New Orleans and Efficient Proximate Cause
Only those who have been dead for the past nine months are unaware that the great city of New Orleans was hit by Category 4 Hurricane Katrina.
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Winning Cases by Managing Experts
Whether risk managers have insurance or are self-insured, winning a claim often comes down to a contest between experts. Through testimony, your experts battle those of the other side.
Departments
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Class-Action Certifications May Be Restricted
A key committee of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has approved a model law designed to limit the ability of trial lawyers to file class-action lawsuits that undermine the authority of state regulatory agencies.
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Actuaries Submit Terrorism Risk Analysis
The American Academy of Actuaries has submitted its analysis on terrorism risk insurance, concluding that a national framework for terrorism risk is necessary if terrorism coverage is to be widely and readily available.
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Auto Claims Add Up, Spread Out
Insurers received nearly 674,000 claims for vehicles that were damaged or destroyed by last year's storms.
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More Trouble Brewing in Mississippi
A class-action lawsuit with 669 plaintiffs was filed against State Farm Insurance Co. last month.
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Making Cents of Expenses and Deductions
Most independent adjusters are responsible for their own lodging and transportation expenses while working catastrophes. Can these expenses be deducted from an adjuster's yearly income?
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Customer Survey Aimed at P&C Insurers
The property and casualty insurance industry, which was measured by customers' satisfaction with their companies' coverage, premium rates, and claim handling, improved slightly by one percent.
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Are Consumers Hesitant to File Claims?
According to results from a study conducted by the Nebraska Auto Body Association, 64 percent of respondents said they would generally feel hesitant about filing an auto insurance claim.
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Policyholders Unsure of Deductible-Premium Relationship
On average, four out of 10 Americans who have a homeowners' policy do not understand the relationship between a deductible and a premium.
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SPEAKING OF: Catastrophe Adjusting
June is the start of what is predicted to be a very busy hurricane season, which means carriers and independent staffing firms soon will need thousands of catastrophe adjusters.
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FRAUD FOCUS: Crackdown Continues in Louisiana
A New Orleans couple was recently arrested on felony insurance fraud warrants by Louisiana's State Police Insurance Fraud Unit.
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Tsunami Warning System Beefed Up
The NOAA recently installed five buoy stations off of the East and Gulf coasts and the Caribbean as part of the expansion of the U.S. tsunami warning system.
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It Costs HOW Much to Drive?
$7,967 a year, or roughly 52.2 cents per mile. That's how much a person driving a new-model, medium-sized sedan such as a Toyota Camry 15,000 miles a year can expect to pay annually.
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Apparently, It's No Fun if You're Dead
Describing the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia's road safety campaign as bold is like calling Mt. Everest tall. While technically it's true, it doesn't quite do the site justice.
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Low-Income, Good Drivers Rewarded
California's Low Cost Automobile Insurance program recently took effect throughout several areas in the state.
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No-Fault Reform Needed
A recent study conducted by the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America and the Insurance Federation of Minnesota addressed the need for reform of the state's no-fault automobile insurance system.
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State Opens Fraud Bureau
Washington State became the 41st state to adopt a coordinated approach to fraud fighting by opening a fraud bureau and adding a fraud prosecutor.
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G7 Ink Enables Adjusters to Print Checks
A magnetic ink could allow insurance agents to print checks on demand, and adjusters to settle claims on the road.
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Cybersettle Launches Version 5.0
The company shifted platforms from Classic ASP to Microsoft's new ASP.NET platform, making it fully web-service enabled, and contains defined application, transaction, and data layers.
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CSC Rolls Out Riskmaster X
Computer Sciences Corporation recently released a new version of its independent claims and risk management software, Riskmaster.
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Changes Are Coming
Some changes that will affect the insurance industry are still years away. Others are probably in the foreseeable future.
