It was a New Year's Eve weekend many residents of Los Angeles,Calif. and West Hollywood will not likely forget. Over the courseof 3 days, a single suspect was tied to as many as 50 car fires,causing an estimated $2 million in damages.
This case is an example of the staggering toll arson takes onboth people and property. It is a serious crime. As shown by therecent Southern California fires, fires can often spread tosurrounding homes or commercial properties, with devastatingresults.
According to the U.S. Fire Administration, in 2010, arson fireskilled 260 people and caused nearly $500 million in damages. [2011,U.S. Fire Administration] This includes arson-for-profit, acriminal method of obtaining money from a fire loss policy.According to a study by Insurance Research Council (IRC), 14percent of arson suspects are motivated by a desire to defraud aninsurance company. [2009, U.S. Fire Administration]
Continue Reading for Free
Register and gain access to:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
