IN THIS ISSUE FEBRUARY 2018 VOL 14 ISSUE 2
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16 Windows 10 Tricks You’ll Wish You Knew Sooner Belts And Braces Language Supports Lack of Coverage
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Texas Releases Top 10 Insurance Fraud Cases of 2017
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Insurance Fraud: Cape Coral Chiropractor Arrested - Accused of Stealing $64,000
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Southern Insurance Underwriters (SIU) And Life2 Form Partnership
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Women In Insurance & Financial Services Announce Their Partners For The Upcoming Year 2018
$1.8 Million Workers’ Comp Scam Leads To The Arrest Of Jacksonville Company Owner
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Special Report: Payment Card Industry Compliance: Insurance For Fines And Assessments
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Lockheed Martin Continues To Strengthen Weather Forecasting With 2nd Next-Gen Weather Satellite
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SpaceX Cleared To Launch 1st Falcon Heavy Rocket Feb 6th With Musk’s Tesla For Payload
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Bridgett Bardot Smacks Back At the #metoo Movement
Now Watch The Incredible Zapata EZFly - Like A Segway Of The Sky!
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Motorcyclist Attempts Insurance Scam Foiled By Dash Cam
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Unbelievable Vintage Ads - Another In Our Series Of Ads From The 30s, 40s, 50s & 60s.
XPT Group Partners With Trucking Specialist W.E. Love Mad Mike Hughes Ready To Launch!
N. Texas Agent Sentenced For Stealing $ Millions
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SPECIAL REPORT! LEARN ABOUT PAYMENT CARD INDUSTRY COMPLIANCE! IS YOUR CLIENT ADAQUATELY COVERED?
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Trump Administration Targets Taliban Economic Engine: Opium Processing Plants
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K
eith B. Daniels, Jr., J.D. is a graduate of the University
of Wisconsin Law School and a US Army veteran and resides
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Former California Agent Sentenced For Stealing $100,000 in Premium & Investment Funds
in the Greater Minneapolis-Saint Paul area. He has been involved with cyberliability and internet security issues for about 20 years
Kim Komando Barry Zalma
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Inside Track
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Classifieds
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Back Issues
working with Lloyd’s of London and several domestic insurance
10 Hidden Things The Secret Service Doesn’t Want You To Know
companies and their insureds.
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California Statewide Wildfire Insurance Claims Nearly $12 Billion
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FEBRUARY 2018 INSURANCE - POLITICS - TECHNOLOGY - PEOPLE A Publication of AdMax Corp., Inc. Corporate Offices P.O. Box 31551 Palm Beach Gardens, Florida 33420 Ron Manera, Publisher/Senior Editor Join Me On Linkedin: HERE Follow Me On Instagram: @rmanera 561.718.0745 • ron@insurmedia.com
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TECHNOLOGY
16 WINDOWS 10 TRICKS YOU’LL WISH YOU KNEW SOONER Really Cool Info - by Kim Komando
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n homes and offices across interesting tools in the Windows America, you can’t throw 10 arsenal. a stone without hitting a Windows PC. You’ll find Microsoft running on monitors in almost every school and library, in businesses big and small, and in living rooms, bedrooms, and dorms from coast to coast. Related: Want to accelerate your workflow? Click here for the speediest Windows 10 keyboard shortcuts. Windows is so commonplace, many of us don’t realize that it has special features that boost your computer’s speed, stream media to multiple devices, share content with your family, and customizations to make it your own. Windows has come a long way in the past 30 years, and the number of handy tricks may surprise you. Related: Is your filing system out of sorts? Click here for five folder secrets every Windows user needs to know. Here are a few of the most FEBRUARY 2018
access to power options, and shortcuts to your file explorer and computer’s settings. Change the start menu’s appearance when you right-click on the icon instead. If you’re using a touchscreen, then just touch the icon, hold it down for a second and then release. Alternatively, use a keyboard shortcut by hitting the Windows key. Right-clicking the Start icon delivers a quick and clean menu. The access to programs is still there, but it also puts a lot more at your fingertips including the Task Manager, Control Panel, Device Manager, and even the trusty Command Prompt. You can also access this advanced menu by hitting the Windows key + X.
1. A whole new start (menu)
Related: Click here to learn how to use the Windows 10 battery saver.
The start menu is a Windows classic. It’s easily accessible 2. Disk cleanup through the stylized Windows icon in the corner of your screen. Remember disk cleanup? It was a Click on it, and you get a layout of your most-used programs, See Kim Komando Pg 42 Table of Contents
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CLAIMS & THE LAW
BELTS AND BRACES LANGUAGE SUPPORTS LACK OF COVERAGE Expert Analysis & Commentary by Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE No Coverage for Primary Means No Coverage for Umbrella
(January 22, 2018) Citizens Insurance Company of America (“Citizens”) appealed from the judgment of the United States District Court for the Northern nsurers issuing District of New York declaring businessowners insurance policies carefully word Join Barry Zalma’s Blog: the language of the policy to http://www.zalma.com/blog eliminate coverages the policy is not designed to insure. Since a businessowners policy is a limited coverage for the risks faced by a business it that Citizens is obligated tries to make clear that it is to defend and, if necessary, not providing coverages for indemnify Risen Foods, LLC, and Petr A. Tkach under a automobile liability. businessowners policy and an In Citizens Insurance Company umbrella policy in an underlying of America v. Risen Foods, LLC, suit brought by Jason J. Tanner Petr A. Tkach, Jason J. Tanner, and Cristina Tanner for damages Cristina Tanner, Docket No. 16- arising out of a motor vehicle 4166, United States Court Of accident. Appeals For The Second Circuit,
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BACKGROUND On April 29, 2013, a van owned by Risen and driven by Tkach, a Risen employee, collided with a truck driven by Tanner. Tanner suffered serious injuries. Later in 2013, Tanner and his wife, Cristina, sued Risen and Tkach for Tanner’s injuries and related loss of services (“underlying suit”). The Risen vehicle was insured under a commercial auto policy issued by State Farm Insurance Company (“State Farm”) with a liability limit of $1,000,000 per occurrence. State Farm has provided defense and indemnity coverage to Risen and Tkach with respect to the underlying suit and offered
Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, practiced law in California for more than 43 years as an insurance coverage and claims handling lawyer. He now limits his practice to service as an insurance consultant and expert witness specializing in insurance coverage, insurance claims handling, insurance bad faith and insurance fraud almost equally for insurers and policyholders. He also serves as an arbitrator or mediator for insurance related disputes. He founded Zalma Insurance Consultants in 2001 and serves as its only consultant. 6
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amounts close to the policy limit to settle it but had not yet received agreement to the offered settlement since the plaintiffs would like to dip into the higher limits available under the businessowners policy.
The umbrella policy in section I(A)(2), titled “Exclusions,” provides: “This insurance does not apply to: . . . “f. Auto Coverages “(1) ‘Bodily injury’ or ‘property damage’ arising out of the ownership, maintenance or use of any ‘auto’ which is not Citizens issued to Risen a a ‘covered auto.’” businessowners policy and an umbrella policy. Both policies bear the same policy number, OBF-9828714-00, and the SCHEDULE OF UNDERLYING POLICIES of the umbrella policy states, “This schedule is part of Policy Number: OBF9828714-00.” The businessowners policy has a limit of $1,000,000 per occurrence, and the umbrella policy has a limit The umbrella policy, in section of $2,000,000 per occurrence. V(5), titled “DEFINITIONS,” defines “covered auto” to mean “only those ‘autos’ to which The Policy Provisions. ‘underlying insurance’ applies.”
discovery both sides filed motions for summary judgment. The District Court denied Citizens’ motion and granted the defendants’ motion. The Court ruled that the claim against Citizens with respect to an owned vehicle was outside the coverage of the endorsement to the businessowners policy but within the coverage of that policy itself.
It is not surprising that a document, especially one drafted by an insurance company, would use a “belt and suspenders” approach, using definitional language to avoid inclusion of coverage and also adding language of exclusion.”
The Citizens policy provided that: “This insurance does not apply to . . . “g. Aircraft, Auto or Watercraft “‘Bodily injury’ or ‘property damage’ arising out of the ownership . . . of any . . . ‘auto’ . . . owned . . . by . . . any insured.” FEBRUARY 2018
The Pending Lawsuit. Citizens eventually sued Risen, Tkach, and the Tanners, seeking a declaration that Citizens had no duty to defend or indemnify Risen or Tkach with respect to the Tanners’ lawsuit. After Table of Contents
The trial court stated that “the auto exclusion remains in full effect,” and then concluded that “[W] hile this claim was outside the scope of the endorsement, it was not by reason of the auto exclusion, outside of the scope of coverage provided by the policy.” The trial court ruled that the umbrella policy applied to the claim at issue because Risen was a named insured, as was Tkach, an employee of Risen.
See Zalma Page 36 www/underwritersinsider.com
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NEWS
TEXAS RELEASES TOP 10 INSURANCE FRAUD CASES OF 2017
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n 2017, Texas Department of Insurance fraud investigations resulted in 135 suspects referred for prosecution, 113 indictments, and $2.3 million in courtordered restitution for victims. Those cases included:
Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and addresses to create fictitious people as applicants for life insurance policies. He would collect commissions for the policy sales and then allow the policies to cancel. He also used a similar method where he stole actual identities and took Gainesville clinic owner out policies without permission Mark Allen Cox pleaded to collect commissions. Halsell guilty to insurance fraud was sentenced to five years and was ordered to repay $1 in prison and ordered to pay million after an investigation $52,364 in restitution. by the Texas Department of Insurance found that he billed In Bexar County, insurance for chiropractic services without agent Paula Villareal having a licensed chiropractor defrauded her victims on staff. into rolling their retirements into IRAs and then depositing In Dallas County, Reginald the funds for the IRAs into her Cofer recruited 12 other personal account. She was people to participate sentenced to seven years in in a scheme involving arson prison and ordered to pay a of residences. Cofer owned a $2,000 fine and return $55,373 restoration business and used to her victims. As part of the the fires to generate work. He sentence, she permanently pleaded guilty to engaging in surrendered her insurance organized criminal activity and license. was sentenced to six years in prison. Ariel Ratcliff operated an internet business selling ames Halsell, a licensed fake insurance certificates insurance agent, operated and other documents. The a commission scheme in victims were unaware that they Bexar County where he used were uninsured and that their
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premiums were being deposited directly into Ratliff’s bank account. Ratliff was sentenced to two years in prison.
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Cornell Tanner filed fraudulent claims with multiple insurance companies for three separate accidents using fake medical bills. Tanner claimed more than $53,000 in fabricated medical treatment and received $25,269 in payments. Tanner was sentenced to two years in prison and repaid all restitution to the insurance companies.
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In Tarrant County, Mary Burress fabricated medical bills and submitted claims for injuries that never happened. She pleaded guilty to thirddegree felony insurance fraud and was sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay $53,735 in restitution.
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Damon Carter reported an accident in which he claimed a phantom driver had swerved into his lane and caused him to go off the road
See 10 Top Fraud Cases Page 19 FEBRUARY 2018
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NEWS
INSURANCE FRAUD: CAPE CORAL CHIROPRACTIC PHYSICIAN ARRESTED AFTER STEALING OVER $64,000
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APE CORAL, Fla. – CFO and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis and the Florida Department of Financial Services (DFS) announced today the recent arrest of Renoir Cadet, a licensed healthcare practitioner holding a certified Chiropractic Physician’s Assistant license.
RENOIR CADET, 55
Cadet faces charges of forgery, uttering, scheme to defraud, and grand theft after allegedly stealing $64,436 in insurance claim monies from his business partner at Image Chiropractic.
A f t e r receiving the checks, Cadet would then forge his partner’s signature, as the checks were made out him, and deposit them into Cadet’s personal account without
his partner’s knowledge or consent. In total, Cadet deposited an estimated $64,436 into his personal account. Cadet was arrested January 10, 2018 at Image Chiropractic and booked into Lee County Jail without incident. Cadet has been charged with 76 counts of forgery and uttering along with one count of scheme to defraud and grand theft. Bail has been set at $70,000.
Mr. Zalma recently published on Amazon.com with links at the Zalma Books site with the following volumes:
After receiving a tip of alleged fraud, Division of Investigative and Forensic Services (DIFS) investigators opened an investigation. As a result, investigators learned Cadet had been receiving additional insurance checks and not reporting them to his business partner. 10
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NEWS
SOUTHERN INSURANCE UNDERWRITERS (SIU) AND LIFE2 FORM PARTNERSHIP Artificial Intelligence To Power New Insurtech Offerings
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TLANTA Southern Insurance Underwriters (SIU), a certified Managing General Agency and Life2, Inc., an innovator in artificial intelligence, machine learning and clinical data services announced a partnership to bring cutting edge innovation to the insurance market. The partnership’s initial effort will be a hosted service leveraging Life2’s Artificial Intelligence Engine to benefit health systems in the United States. Wesley C. Duesenberg, Jr., Chief Executive Officer at SIU, commented: “For over 50 years, SIU has underwritten a broad scope of risks ranging from the simplest property risks to highly sophisticated self
insured programs. Throughout our Life2’s Artificial Intelligence Engine provides hospitals empirical history, innovative evidence of technology has SIU represents which clinical always been a procedural hallmark and Life2’s more than 150 and actions are artificial intelligence admitted and nonmost effective. It fits perfectly with utilizes artificial SIU’s progressive admitted specialty i n t e l l i g e n c e, track record. Our first companies, Lloyd’s of deep machine initiative is to help hospitals and health London, and several l e a r n i n g , cognitive systems leverage standard companies. augmentation their investments expert SIU is represented by and in insurance to captives. While our over 2,500 Independent guidance deliver real initial focus will Agents, primarily in time patient be in the United risk States market, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, based stratification, the international Mississippi, South Carolina causality insurance market analysis and will be an exciting and Tennessee.” e m p i r i c al and logical progression. The SIU team is intervention selection. confident and excited about what An Evidence Engine powers an this partnership can deliver.” automated Machine Learning Feedback Loop that compiles the outcomes and measures the effectiveness of each action. This results in real time“course correction”, helping hospitals and clinicians optimize patient outcomes as well as quality and financial performance while reducing risk. Sam Wilkes, Founder and Chairman of Life2 stated: “We are excited about our partnership with SIU. Their deep
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NEWS FREE CLASSIFIEDS! HELP WANTED — POSITION WANTED 4 — SALE ITEMS
CLICK HERE! understanding of risk underwriting and risk management combined with our technology will prove lucrative for health systems and especially those that own insurance captives.
Today, SIU represents more than 150 admitted and non-admitted specialty companies, Lloyd’s of London, and several standard companies. SIU is represented by over 2,500 Independent Agents, primarily in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee. SIU is an active participant in national, state and local insurance organizations including Professional Insurance Agents (PIA), and the Independent Insurance Agents (IIA).
The captive allows a health system to place more self-insured risk in the captive in order to achieve a much greater operating profit. Our Artificial Intelligence Engine allows health systems to boldly manage and mitigate risks associated with malpractice, value based contracts, Accountable Care Organizations and About Life2: Life2 is an innovator Post Acute Discharge Partnerships.” in artificial intelligence, machine learning and clinical data services. About Southern Insurance The company’s Artificial Intelligence Underwriters: Southern Insurance Cycle focuses on the financial and Underwriters, Inc. (SIU), based in operational risks facing acute care Alpharetta, Georgia, is a certified hospitals and their care continuum Managing General Agency serving partners. independent agents throughout the southeast for over fifty years. The platform analyzes and calculates SIU offers a broad range of property, – via empirical evidence – “which casualty, and transportation actions work and which do not”. It products and specializes in hard to provides real time“course correction”, place, specialty and excess & surplus helping hospitals optimize patient lines risks. With an experienced staff outcomes, quality and financial The platform of underwriters, the scope of risks performance. that can be underwritten ranges complements all of the hospital’s from the simplest property risks to existing management systems by highly sophisticated self-insured feeding valuable proactive insights via normal hospital workflow. Please programs. visit http://www.life2inc.com. FEBRUARY 2018
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NEWS
XPT GROUP PARTNERS WITH TRUCKING SPECIALIST W.E. LOVE
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EW HAVEN, Conn., Jan. 31, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- XPT Group announced today its partnership with industry leader W.E. Love & Associates (WEL), a 36-year-old MGA with expertise in trucking risks. Led by John H. Love and based in Burlington, North Carolina, WEL offers select retail agencies direct access to highly skilled underwriters who set the standard for trucking insurance knowledge and experience.
WEL is XPT’s second acquisition over the last three months the first being WSS, a leading wholesale broker and MGA including Western Security Surplus Insurance Brokers Inc. and its MGU program division West-Pro. “The capital and expertise provided by XPT has allowed us to expand our programs and has helped us strengthen our firm and West-Pro’s exclusive all-in-one program for bars, taverns and nightclubs,” said Kyle Stevens, At WEL, intense personal service president of WSS. combined with detailed account analysis provides better, faster XPT was formed by industry and more consistent answers veterans Tom Ruggieri, the for customers. WEL’s self- former CEO of Swett & Crawford, improving, dynamic workflow along with Jeff Heath, founder software allows for continuous of Heath XS now owned by improvement in the submission Hallmark Insurance, and Mark process including the delivery Smith who was an executive of mobile-friendly customized with RT Specialty, AmWINS and presentations. WEL is currently operating in 30 states.
Stewart Smith. XPT stands apart by delivering expertise through a tech-enabled collaborative partnership culture providing best-in-market expertise and customer service that will meet even the highest of expectations and lead to rapid new product development. XPT is backed by investors led by B.P. Marsh & Partners, the specialist London-based minority investor in insurance distribution and program underwriting companies. The transaction closed on Jan. 25, 2018, and WEL will continue to operate under its established brand name so client business will not be affected. XPT was represented in the acquisition by TAG Financial and WEL was represented by Wyatt Early Harris Wheeler LLP.
WEL was established in 1982 by W.E. “Dub” Love Jr. who began his trucking insurance career in 1950. John Love has worked with WEL, which continues to be a familyrun business, for 36 years. He has served as WEL’s president since 1992 and will continue to do so in WEL’s partnership with XPT. 14
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(800) 229-2009 ext 3 Mention code UWI sales@accuagency.com Request more info at http:/ /accu.agency/UWI www/underwritersinsider.com Table of Contents
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THE INSIDE TRACK - BREAKING NEWS Poll: Americans Want Massive Cuts To Legal Immigration
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ccording to a HarvardHarris poll taken in midJanuary, Americans back Trump in his demands for an end to the Diversity Lottery, family (chain) migration and the border wall and call for a massive cut in legal immigration from 1.2 million annually to 500K.
Mad Mike Hughes Ready For Launch!
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and 67 years of space flight, is a “flat-earther,” convincingly making the case that he absolutely believes the Earth is flat as a frisbee. Somehow, Hughes believes that the 1800’ altitude he will attempt to reach will give him a vantage point sufficient to prove his flat-Earth theory, while he will still be about 33,000 feet short of the altitude needed to see the curvature of the Earth. One does wonder why Hughes doesn’t just rent an hour in a Cessna 172 which routinely fly as high as 10,000’.
New Alloy To Double Capacity Of Lithium Batteries?
fter the last launch attempt was shut down by those party-poopers ithium batteries are at the Bureau of Land ubiquitous - found in Management, (the landing was scheduled on BLM property) Mad Mike Hughes, undaunted, has another manned launch of his steampowered rocket planned on February 3 with a more vertical trajectory from Amboy, CA in the Mojave (Credit: Cockrell School of Engineering) Desert that will avoid BLM property. Hughes, famously hand tools, electric cars ignoring centuries of science and bikes, smart phones,
Image Credit: Creative Commons
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digital cameras and just about anywhere long life and steady battery output are factors. Now Texas engineers have developed a new tin-aluminum allow that might deliver lighter, smaller and more powerful lithium batteries with energy improvements projected as high as 100%.
Amateur Astronomer Detects “Lost” NASA Research Satellite
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n December 18, 2005, NASA lost radio contact with IMAGE satellite, launched in March of 2000 atop a Delta II rocket. After multiple attempts over several weeks to regain communication, NASA finally wrote off the multimillion dollar equipment as lost, although the determination for the loss was recorded as “unknown.” Recently, Scott Tilly, an amateur astronomer from British Columbia was scanning the S-Band frequencies for signs of another lost satellite, the secret ZUMA package lofted FEBRUARY 2018
THE INSIDE TRACK - BREAKING NEWS into orbit aboard the Falcon 9 rocket in January of this year, when he detected signals consistent with IMAGE’s
Credit: NASA
Image Credit: By UBeR (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html),
orbit. NASA has confirmed the signal may indeed be IMAGE and is attempting to re-establish communication for the first time in 12 years.
2017 Natural Disasters Costliest Year Ever
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ew data from Aon Benfield suggests that 2017 may be the worst year on record when it comes to the cost of natural disasters - by a long shot - with new totals exceeding 1/3 of a trillion dollars. ($353 Billion) The Aon report highlighted 330 natural catastrophe events during the year, most of them weather-related events such as Hurricanes Maria, Harvey & Irma. FEBRUARY 2018
Just Another Ugly Cyber Threat
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laims data recorded by Beazley, the specialist insurer and leading provider of cyber insurance, indicates that organizations are facing an increased threat to their operations from fraudulent instruction scams. Fraudulent instruction incidents reported to Beazley Breach Response Services (BBR Services) quadrupled in 2017, with policyholders incurring losses ranging from a few thousand dollars up to $3 million. With claims amounts in 2017 averaging $352,000, fraudulent instruction has rapidly become a significant financial threat to many organizations. Cyber-criminals are using ever-more sophisticated methods to exploit human weaknesses in an organization’s cyberdefenses. Under fraudulent instruction scams, criminals use hacking and phishing techniques to accumulate information that allows them to send plausibleTable of Contents
looking requests to transfer funds to bogus accounts. In addition to losing money, organizations may also have to conduct exhaustive systems analysis to ensure that individuals’ personal and private data has not been compromised.
North Texas Title Agent Sentenced For Stealing Millions
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ancy Carroll, the former owner of Millennium Title in Keller, was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay $8.6 million after a Texas Department of Insurance investigation found she had stolen millions from her clients and investors. Carroll pleaded guilty of stealing millions from Millennium Title’s escrow account, which was intended to handle the company’s real estate closings. The scheme came to light when transactions began to fail because of lack of funds. Millennium Title was ordered into liquidation, and Carroll fled Texas.
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NEWS
WOMEN IN INSURANCE & FINANCIAL SERVICES ANNOUNCE THEIR PARTNERS FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR 2018
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LBANY, NY (01/15/2018) (readMedia)-Women in Insurance & Financial Services (WIFS) has announced that six leading industry corporations have partnered with the organization to support the advancement of women in the insurance and financial services profession in 2018.
By partnering with WIFS, these industry leaders are demonstrating their support for women in the insurance and financial services profession. Their commitment is vital to our success as we lead the way as the global change leader inspiring women to achieve their dreams.”
Penn Mutual, Executive Partner Prudential and Ambassador Partners Ameritas, Lincoln Financial Network – The WISE Group, Mutual of Omaha and National Life Group. “Our industry is currently facing many changes,” states Angela Ribuffo, 2018 WIFS National President. “Engagement at all levels is essential to overcome these challenges. By partnering with WIFS, these industry leaders are demonstrating their support for women in the insurance and financial services profession. Their commitment is vital to our success as we lead the way as the global change leader inspiring women to achieve their dreams.”
The collective contributions from Partners for Excellence enables WIFS to provide its membership with robust educational programming, annual conference, online resources, media exposure, as well as ground breaking demographic and industry wide research on what drives women to be successful. These collaborations are shaping the Continuing their commitment future of the industry. to furthering the WIFS mission to attract, develop and advance About WIFS women is Leadership Partner 18
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Eighty years strong, Women in Insurance & Financial Services, headquartered in Albany, NY, is the only organization in the insurance and financial services industry exclusively devoted to supporting the careers of women and helping them succeed. The WIFS mission is to attract, develop and advance the careers of women in the financial services industry. More than 1,300 WIFS members receive value from monthly education programs, local chapters in 25 US markets, an annual national conference, professional development and corporate partnerships.
FREE! free insider subscription! sign up yourself or any associate at this link
HERE
FEBRUARY 2018
Continued From Page 8
10 TOP TEXAS INSURANCE FRAUD CASES OF 2017 and into a tree. Carter staged the accident by ramming his vehicle repeatedly into the tree. Carter and three other people made claims for injuries. He was sentenced to six years in prison and ordered to pay $9,000 in restitution. FEBRUARY 2018
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Jason Halstead, a licensed insurance agent, used life insurance proceeds belonging to a niece with a disability to buy an annuity without her consent. Halstead then withdrew a large portion of the principal, incurring a penalty, to make a down payment on his house and used the annuity payments for personal expenses. He was sentenced to six years probation and ordered to pay $41,000 in restitution.
years. Each of her claims was supported by fabricated hospital bills allegedly from the hospital where she worked. Sibley received more than $14,000 in payments from her scam. Sibley was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to pay a $2,000 fine and restitution of $14,408.
TDI investigators are certified peace officers and work closely with law enforcement authorities around the state when investigating fraud cases. You can report suspected cases Tiffany Sibley, a billing of insurance fraud online or by agent for a hospital, submitted calling TDI’s Consumer Help fake insurance claims over two Line at 1-800-252-3439.
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WORKERS’ COMP NEWS This Month’s Workers’ Comp Fraud Story Sponsored By MyPEOAgency.
$1.8 MILLION WORKERS’ COMP SCAM LEADS TO THE ARREST OF JACKSONVILLE COMPANY OWNER
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ACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis today announced the recent arrest of Jeovane Felizardo, owner of JJF Construction Services, LLC, after a workers’ compensation fraud investigation revealed that Felizardo allegedly used various local money service businesses to cash checks in an alleged attempt to illegally conceal his total payroll from his workers’
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The Underwriter’s Insider
compensation insurance provider to avoid higher premium costs. Investigators discovered that Felizardo provided false payroll totals to his workers’ compensation provider and misrepresented his employee’s class codes. Felizardo reported his total payroll to be $76,799 when signing up for his policy. Based on the declared
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FEBRUARY 2018
payroll amount and the reported employee class codes, Felizardo’s insurance company determined the premium for his workers’ compensation policy to be $24,894. After further investigation by the Bureau of Insurance Fraud, Investigators found that Felizardo cashed a minimum of 540 checks from April 16, 2016 to April 16, 2017 all issued by contractors doing business with JJF Construction Services totaling $5,929,534. Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis The contractors confirmed that the checks issued were only to cover labor costs and not any material costs associated. Felizardo’s failure to accurately report payroll and class codes to his insurer resulted in a gross underpayment of insurance premiums. Had the actual amount of Felizardo’s payroll and proper class codes been reported to his worker’s compensation provider the resulting premium rate would have been $1,841,137, a difference of $1,816,243.
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Felizardo was arrested January 12, 2018 at his place of residence and transported to the Duval County Jail without incident. Felizardo has been charged with workers compensation fraud and scheme to defraud. This case will be prosecuted by Joe Licandro of the Fourth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office. If convicted, Felizardo could face up to 60 years in prison.
FEBRUARY 2018
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NOW WATCH THE INCREDIBLE ZAPATA EZFLY - IT’S LIKE A SEGWAY OF THE SKY!
MOTORCYCLIST ATTEMPTS INSURANCE SCAM - FOILED BY DASH CAM...
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ome home at 2 AM? Forget her birthday? Lose the mortgage money in Vegas? Bought her a bass boat for your anniversary? No Problem! Just load up the little woman with Mebaral. Things were so simple in the 50s!
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PAYMENT CARD INDUSTRY COMPLIANCE: INSURANCE FOR FINES AND ASSESSMENTS You sold your client cyber insurance, but does it provide coverage for this exposure? By Keith Daniels
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usinesses accepting debit and credit cards as a method of payment are exposed to cyber-attacks during the financial transaction process. From the moment, the customer swipes his or her card at the merchant’s terminal to the point at which the data is received by the Merchant Bank, there is the potential for a breach. The highly-publicized Target breach, which resulted in Target paying $19 million in fines to MasterCard alone (in another well-known breach, TJX paid a fine of more than $24 million), is but one of many evidencing that cybercriminals are attacking merchants of all sizes to access
valuable data. These attacks are not by amateurs. Cyber assaults on payment card systems are frequent, sophisticated, and organized.
also the exposure of expenses due to litigation from customers and investors which also can result from a data breach.
The Payment Card Industry (PCI) In addition to fines and penalties, is made up of financial service it should be noted that there is organizations such as card
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bout the author: Keith B. Daniels, Jr., J.D. is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School and a US Army veteran and resides in the Greater Minneapolis-Saint Paul area. He has been involved with cyberliability and internet security issues for about 20 years working with Lloyd’s of London and several domestic insurance companies and their insureds. Keith is available for speaking engagements. He can be reached at keith@mycybercounsel.com or 715-379-6511. 24
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The Byzantine processing sequence of credit card payments may offer multiple opportunities to those that would breach the system
issuers, Merchant Banks, and card processors. PCI incurs serious losses when cardholder data and/ or sensitive authentication data are compromised in a security breach. Losses include card replacement costs, fraudulent charges, and forensic costs to investigate the origin and scope of the breach.
the 12 basic Data Security Standards and their associated sub-requirements are known collectively as PCI DSS. Merchant Agreements, between Merchant Banks and merchants, include clauses allowing the PCI enforcement power to assess fees, fines, and penalties for failure to comply with PCI DSS.
Visa, MasterCard, American Express, etc. created the Security Standards Council to develop global security standards for merchants, credit card processors, and other entities that store, process or transmit cardholder or sensitive authentication data.
Despite the attention that has been given to PCI DSS, studies consistently show a PCI DSS audit fail rate of approximately 75% when conducted by an outside security assessment firm.
unaware of a security breach for as long as 18 months before receiving PCI notification. When fraudulent charges occur, the PCI determines the common point-of-sale by tracing the misappropriated card data back to the merchant. Subsequently, the merchant may be charged an assessment for the services of a PCI Forensic Investigator (PFI) to determine the extent of the breach and the number of individual records exposed.
Engaging a PFI starts at approximately $10,000. Visa calls In the aftermath of an attack, the the fines “fines”, MasterCard calls merchant is usually not the first them “case management fees”, and Meant to protect consumer to know. In fact, the merchant or information and prevent fraud, payment processor may remain See PCI Compliance Page 25 FEBRUARY 2018
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“The Final Authority on Everything!” WARNING!
The Advisor has been known to be politically incorrect and may send certain Millennials scurrying to their safe space. Also not recommended for Progressives who are easily offended. Please read at your own risk.
TAKE YOUR BEST SHOT My wife says I’m a lousy photographer. You’ve written before on how to take good digital pictures, but I can’t find the article. Can you reprint those tips? — A.G. Miami, FL We couldn’t find the article either — but here is the Advisor’s list of eight most common amateur photography mistakes: 1. Photographer too far from subject. Move on in. Fill the frame with your subject. No one cares to see the walls and trees. 2. Failure to turn camera on end for vertical shots. Too many casual photogs have never turned their camera from the landscape (horizontal) position - ruining 60% of their pictures. Cameras come with a rectangular 26
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ADVISOR
format for a reason — so you can use it to better shoot vertical subjects such as portraits, or standing people. 3. Boring or predictable vantage point. Move around a little bit. Don’t shoot every child from the position of a standing adult. Same for pets or sitting people. Get down! Crawl around! Stand on a chair! Climb a tree! Turn your camera on the diagonal! 4. Boring composition. Most amateur shots — snapshots— are stupefyingly predictable. Aunt Edna, sitting at the sofa, saying “cheese” at the camera. Typically, the shot will be taken
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horizontally, even though she is a vertical subject. Her feet will be cut-off at the ankle and there will be four feet of wall over her head. There will be two feet of sofa visible on each side of her. There will be a picture frame from the wall behind emerging from her ear. Don’t be that photographer! If you aren’t shooting a head/chest shot, try to include the entire body — with a little room on top and the bottom. Try moving your subject a little off center or have her look over her shoulder at the camera. Look through your viewfinder with the same critical eye you will later view
FEBRUARY 2018
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the photo. The rule of thirds: Place an imaginary tic-tac-toe pattern over your picture and put the subject or action on one of the intersecting lines. Take time to compose an interesting image! 5. Failure to use fill-flash. When taking pictures of subjects, usually people, with a bright sky behind them, use your camera’s flash - it won’t affect the background but will properly expose your subject. 6. Leaving images on camera. Get in the habit of off-loading your images to your computer as soon as possible. Too many times amateur photographers miss an important shot in July because their camera card is still full of Christmas pictures. FEBRUARY 2018
7. Failure to compose background. Few casual photographers ever think about what is behind their subject - other than a vague dissatisfaction with the final result. First rule: Keep it simple! Complex backgrounds, such as furniture, lamps, wall hangings, unless way out of focus, simply steal attention from the subject and confuse the image. Another common mistake is allowing telephone poles or lamps to appear to grow out of a subject’s head! Change your position a couple of degrees and the problem disappears. Spend as much time composing your background a you do your subject. Table of Contents
8. Failure to manage images on computer. This may be the most critical mistake of all since it may portend a complete loss for future generations. As poorly organized as your grandmother’s pictures may have been, she still managed to throw all of those family images in a shoe box for posterity. Fortunately this problem is easy to solve: First, organize your images by year. Open a folder on your hard drive under My Documents/My Pictures/2018, for example. Then open another folder within your 2018 folder for each photo event beginning with the date, i.e., 05_07 Prom. Most important: Hard drives fail all the time. Back up your images regularly! www/underwritersinsider.com
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220/440 Lic. Ins Agent Needed - Boca
FREE CLASSIFIED RULES: Submit all ads online at: www.underwritersinsider. com/classifieds. Ads must be less than 501 characters plus a title line. Eligible free classifieds include help wanted, position wanted, personal ads, agency for sale/purchase, or the one-time sale of an item or items. Place Ad HERE! REGULAR CLASSIFIED RULES: Submit all ads online at: www.underwritersinsider. com/classifieds. Only $1.00 per word, including title line and response info. Payment must be received prior to print date. Ads run 3 mo.
Experienced Commercial 220 CSR Cape Coral/Fort Myers FL Established commercial lines agency seeking: self motivated, detail oriented professional. The successful candidate should have a minimum of 3 years experience in commercial lines, excellent computer skills, dependable, ability to follow up and follow through and have an unwavering commitment to the service your clients. Professional designations such as CIC, CPCU, CRM or ARM a plus. In return, you will have the opportunity to join a committed group of individuals in a growing, privately owned multi lines agency.Industry leading benefits and compensation package working with a group of experienced professionals low turnover environment. All Information and replies will be kept strictly confidential fairway34@hotmail.com 18-1
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440 or 220 in Boca Raton, Part Time or Full Time Experienced or Trainee; Agent and Customer Service Rep in family owned agency in Boca Raton. Full or Part time. (Flexible Hours) Personal Lines CSR; salary plus bonus. Commercial Agent; 50% commissions and residual. Most important Florida markets and several national markets available. We can compete with the “Big Boys” with our national affiliations. Email your resume to agencyops@gmail.com. or FAX to: 561-416-7221. EOE 17-2
Tampa Area Commercial Producer Agency Established 2006 seeks Outside Commercial Producer. Cutting Edge tech! Generous Comp and Possible Equity Buy In. Experience and FL 220 a must! Resume’ to info@nusurance.com 16-10
Agent/CSR wanted, Ft. Lauderdale Area
Independent P&C agency is seeking to employ a licensed agent and/or csr, with experience in nonstandard and standard auto, homeowners, commercial auto and property insurance. Fulltime position M-F 9am - 6pm and every other Saturday 9am - 3pm. Must have a GREAT attitude and know how to be a team player. Email resume to Marlinsii@aol.com. 17-11
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Looking for inside / outside lic. experienced sales rep. Must know QQ/QF, Semcat and other software packages. Efax resume to 561-829-2055. Great office. 16-11
Inside P&C Insurance Saleperson-NJ 1-3 years experience needed for a P&C Licensed saleperson. Leads, incentives and $40,000 base salary & benefits all provided in a convenient Parsippany modern location. jimb@mgainc.net 17-11
440 or 220 Needed in Tampa
Needed Agent or Customer service rep, must have knowledge of personal lines and have a great personality for established Family owned agency. Send resume. idcccorp@msn.com 17-10
Licensed P&C Sales & Service agent: Tampa, FL
We are seeking the right sales and service person to be a part of our team which is focused on continuing to grow a 24 year insurance Agency. If you are an experienced licensed professional who is proficient in sales of home, auto, flood, umbrella and other personal lines of insurance and who is also diligent in following up after the sale with quality customer service, we could be your professional home. info@danceferrentino.com 17-11 FEBRUARY 2018
Outside Ins Sales Rep - Must be licensed South Palm Beach Co. Need home based / office outside insurance sales rep. Must have experience cold calling, networking grps and referrals a must. Most know how to type up and prepare a property commercial risk including acords, loss runs, etc. Pls email resume to: jonathandrausch@hotmail.com 16-11
Fresh out of School Insurance Sales Person Needed
We are doing a cooperative hiring with one of our carriers. Must be energetic, sales and commission motivated. It is a 2 yr salary with a transition to 100% commission, there is unlimited growth potential based on how good you are. Must be able to travel for 3 weeks of training to Philadelphia. Interview process is lengthy, but once we find the right person we are ready to go! larrytalbert@talbertservices.com 17-11
Help us to expand our Agency (From Home)!! We are seeking a super energetic and motivated professional to work in a virtual capacity assisting us with recruiting and supporting professional sales agents across the United States and Canada. For detailed information on our company and this non-sales virtual opportunity please contact me at: Nicole.lang@harvardbenefits.com
Experience Commercial CSR Wanted Duluth GA We are a mid sized agency, looking to add to our family environment insurance agency. We are not related but have a great time together. Voted Best in Gwinnett for 7 yrs in a row. Best in Duluth 2 yrs. Must be able to handle a large volume of direct bill accounts. Multicarrier experience and Hawksoft Agency use is a plus. Bilingual is also good but not a requirement.
larrytalbert@talbertservices.com 17-11
Looking to buy a P&C agency in PB county. Please call
BROWARD COUNTY ENTRY LEVEL ACCOUNT MANAGER Growing MGA is looking for a highly motivated & responsible individual. Duties include managing accounts from our distribution channel --- quoting, binding and servicing multiple lines of business. Incredible opportunity for someone looking to learn and grow in a company. Send resumes to info@ everiskpro.com 17-4
SUBMIT YOUR FREE CLASSIFIED AD HERE
561-584-0732
Efax: (561) 829-2055 17-3
Insurance Agent With 220 License We are looking for Insurance Agent with License 220 In Kissimmee, Florida Are Full Time on Agency. Please call 407-847-2539 for Interview Ask for Alex Ramos alexinsurance@aol.com 17-6
Nicole.lang@harvardbenefits. com
220-440 Agent for Port St. Lucie Agency (PT-FT ?) Please fax your information to: (772)879-1002 or e-mail to: amerinsur@aol.com Thank You... amerinsur@aol.com 17-11
16-12 FEBRUARY 2018
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TECH NEWS
LOCKHEED MARTIN CONTINUES TO STRENGTHEN WEATHER FORECASTING WITH SECOND NEXT-GEN WEATHER SATELLITE
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ENVER, Dec. 8, 2017 / PRNewswire/ -- Timely and accurate weather forecasts can directly affect public safety and protection of property; and the next satellite in the NOAA GOES-R Series will continue to provide more data for sharper, more detailed views of weather systems. NOAA's next weather satellite in the Geostationary Photo Credit: Michael Starobin, NOAA/NASA. Lockheed Martin delivered NOAA’s GOES-S weather O p e r a t i o n a l satellite to its Florida launch site on December 4. The satellite will undergo final processing Environmental at Astrotech Space Operations in preparation for a launch in March 2018. Satellite – R Series, Space Operations facility in previous generation of satellites. GOES-S, left its Colorado home Titusville, Florida. where it was built and is now "Our team understands the in Florida where it will undergo GOES-S is scheduled to launch important mission of this national preparations for launch from on March 1, 2018, when it will asset especially after the year of NASA's Kennedy Space Center. join its sister satellite, GOES-16, severe weather that our country Monday, Lockheed Martin in orbit. GOES-16 has already experienced," said Tim Gasparrini, (NYSE: LMT) shipped the nextproved vital in forecasting and vice president and GOES-R Series generation satellite aboard an Air is a dramatic improvement of program manager at Lockheed Force C-5M Super Galaxy cargo weather forecasting speed, Martin Space Systems. "Progress transport plane to its Astrotech accuracy and detail over the continues with this second
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satellite in the series and we're focused on performing the final tests and readying the satellite for a successful launch."
of the GOES-R Series spacecraft and instruments for NOAA. The program is co-located at NASA's The second of four next- Goddard Space Flight generation geostationary Center in Greenbelt, weather satellites, GOES-S will be Maryland. positioned over the West Coast at 137 degrees west longitude once operational. The data from the About whole constellation will support Lockheed Martin SpaceX Falcon Heavy rests on the launch pad Credit: SpaceX short-term weather forecasts and severe storm warnings, With a HQ in Bethesda, Maryland, the most powerful rocket in maritime forecasts, seasonal Lockheed Martin is a global existence. When it launches, the predictions, drought outlooks security and aerospace company beast will be carrying a unique and space weather predictions. that employs approximately payload: CEO Elon Musk’s Tesla as Additionally, the technology will 97,000 people worldwide and a “mass simulator” to be inserted improve hurricane tracking and is principally engaged in the into a hyperbolic orbit around intensity forecasts, and increase research, design, development, Earth. thunderstorm and tornado manufacture, integration and The Falcon Heavy, which can hoist warning lead time. sustainment of advanced more than 70 tons, the equivalent technology systems, products of a fully-loaded 737 to low earth Lockheed Martin designed, built and services. orbit, will be making it’s maiden and tested the satellite and is flight. Only the Saturn V, used responsible for spacecraft launch by the U.S. to hoist the Apollo processing. GOES-S will launch missions to the moon could lift aboard a United Launch Alliance more hardware into space than Atlas V 541 rocket from Cape the Falcon Heavy. Musk has Canaveral Air Force Station in admitted things could go wrong Florida. In addition to all four and will only be risking his Tesla GOES-R Series satellites (R, S, T on this launch. and U), Lockheed Martin also designed and built the Solar The weather is forecast as 80 Ultraviolet Imager (SUVI) and the percent chance of acceptable Geostationary Lightning Mapper weather for the launch, now (GLM) instruments that will fly scheduled for a three-hour aboard each spacecraft. window beginning at 1:30 p.m. Eastern. With a clear sky, the NOAA funds, manages, and cheduled for launch launch should be visible for will operate the GOES-R Series February 6th, the 27-engine hundreds of miles along the satellites. NASA oversees the Falcon Heavy is currently eastern Florida seaboard. acquisition and development
SPACEX CLEARED TO LAUNCH 1ST FALCON HEAVY ROCKET 2/6/2018 WITH TESLA PAYLOAD
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NOTABLE QUOTABLES IN THE NEWS
SAY WHAT? Hypocritical, Ridiculous And Uninteresting
but she romanticized it. When the president gets a pass for something that egregious he essentially gave tacit permission to all those who followed to do the same.”
Linda Tripp, one-time close friend and colleague of Monica Lewinsky who blew any actresses flirt with the whistle on the affair in producers to get a role. Then an attempt to protect her when they tell the story afterwards, friend. For her efforts, she they say they have been was savagely attacked by harassed … in actual fact, Democrat women, Hillary rather than benefit them, at the front, who felt that it only harms them. In the Bubba’s supposedly pro- Pres. Bill Clinton, Hero vast majority of cases, [it is] feminist politics were more To The Left, Horror To hypocritical, ridiculous and important to preserve than Vulnerable Young Women uninteresting. I thought it the life of a young intern. was nice to be told that I was beautiful or that I had Barack: You Are No Longer President a pretty little ass. This kind Bridgette Bardot of compliment is nice.” resident Obama needs to stop acting like an ex-girlfriend Vintage movie star, sex symbol and out-spoken full of revenge and realize that French citizen Brigitte Bardot pushing back on the recent and popular spate of outrage over Donald Trump is the president and Donald sexual harassment in the movie industry - and Trump is also Obama’s president. So suck it she ought to know something about it. Bardot up, Buttercup!” is the second French star after Catherine Diamond & Silk, Deneuve to do so. two of my favorite African-American Remember The political pundits. “Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy?” The pair are biological sisters e was the leader of the free and offer their right-of-center political views world and she was an intern, a in a hilarious but extraordinarily insightful kid, who happened to be extremely way. The two have a big space on YouTube emotionally young for her age. This was part and it’s a great place to catch the flavor of their of his pattern where women were a means to resistance. Here’s a great example where the an end. It was almost a servicing agreement, pair go after John Lewis & Maxine Waters...
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ImageAttribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)
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Reinsurance Market Breezes Through 2017 With Excess Capital
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hile 2017 was an expensive year for the insurance industry, the reinsurance market had an estimated US$600 billion in available capital to withstand the high volume of payouts. Most critically, the US weather and wildfire events in particular have demonstrated the value of reinsurance, with claims being paid in an average of eight days to augment the recovery process.”
Trump Goes After Taliban “Economic Engine:” Opioids
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ince the first strikes, less than three months ago, we have been targeting the enemy’s [Taliban] financial streams. Our combined operations have destroyed 30 Taliban narcotics processing labs, denying this narcoticinsurgency more than $20 million and drug trafficking organizations more than $80 million of drug money. Remember that this is only the beginning of our counter-threat revenue campaign in the war. Additionally, the Aon Benfield CEO Eric Andersen a press release Afghan National Interdiction Unit conducted announcing their annual report on weather two simultaneous raids of Taliban narcotics catastrophes. bazaars, as a part of this integrated campaign.” U.S. Army Lt. Col. Kone Faulkner, a spokesman for the U.S.-NATO mission officially known as Resolute Support (RS) explaining in an email to Brietbart News how the Trump Administration’s hurch ... family ... police ... policies authorizing the U.S. military to go after military ... the national anthem the Taliban’s “economic engine” of illicit opioid ... Trump trying to call on all the production with airstrikes. tropes of 1950s-era nationalism. The goal of this speech appears to be to force the normalization of Trump on the terms of the How The Left Has Destroyed California bygone era his supporters are nostalgic for. #SOTU” oseph Vranich, president of site selection consultants Pectrum MSNBC’s uber-liberal, found that roughly 9,000 California Democrat Joy Reid companies moved their HQs to out-of-state attacking Trump’s locations in the last seven years due to the State of the Union Golden States “hostile” business environment.” speech for speaking positively about From a 378 page study by Sectrum Location church, family, police Solutions. For some real insight on how & the military. This Democrats & their policies have destroyed the is not your father’s state, watch this quick YouTube video. Democrat party...
MSNBC’s Joyless Joy Reid Typifies Unhinged, Out Of Touch Liberals
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BACK ISSUES
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BACK ISSUES
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TECH NEWS Continued From Page 7
ZALMA Finally, acknowledging the auto exclusion of the umbrella policy, the Court ruled that Citizens’ disclaimer of liability under the umbrella policy was ineffective to comply with state law because the disclaimer relied only on the lack of listing of the State Farm policy as an underlying insurance and did not mention the auto exclusion. Discussion Unlike the trial court the Second Circuit Court of Appeal concluded that the case is squarely governed by its decision in NGM Insurance Co. v. Blakely Pumping, Inc., 593 F.3d 150 (2d Cir. 2010) (“NGM“). NGM, like the pending case, involved a claim under a businessowners policy to which had been added a hired auto and non-owned auto endorsement. The claim was based on an accident involving a vehicle owned by the insured. The operative language of the endorsement in NGM is identical to the operative language in the endorsement added to the Citizens businessowners policy. 36
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The only differences are trivial umbrella policy also does not variations in the labeling of apply. cross-referenced sections of the businessowners policies. ZALMA OPINION The Second Circuit reversed the district court’s judgment declaring that Citizens was obligated to defend and, if necessary, indemnify Risen Foods under a businessowners policy and an umbrella policy in an underlying suit for damages arising out of a motor vehicle accident. Since the Risen Foods vehicle was not a “covered auto” under the policies neither As to the umbrella policy, it is defendant was entitled to arguable that it provides no defense or indemnity. coverage simply because the only listed underlying policy, the businessowners policy, does not provide coverage, and the State Farm policy, which does provide coverage, was not listed. It is not surprising that a document, especially one drafted by an insurance company, would use a “belt and suspenders” approach, using definitional language to avoid inclusion of coverage and also adding language of exclusion. That was true in NGM and is true here.
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But the Umbrella also states: “However, we will have no duty to defend the insured against any ‘suit’ seeking damages for ‘bodily injury’ or ‘property damage’ to which this insurance does not apply.” And the umbrella policy’s definition of “[c]overed auto” is “only those ‘autos’ to which ‘underlying insurance’ applies.” Because the underlying insurance, the businessowners policy, does not apply to an owned auto, the Table of Contents
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NEWS
FORMER CALIFORNIA AGENT SENTENCED FOR STEALING $100,000 IN PREMIUMS AND INVESTMENT FUNDS
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IVERSIDE, Calif. — Former licensed insurance agent Frederick Donald Rollins, 42, of Moreno Valley, was sentenced today after pleading guilty to one felony count of grand theft, two counts of securities fraud and an aggravated white-collar crime enhancement for stealing more than $100,000 in insurance premiums and investment funds from 10 victims. Rollins has been sentenced to one year in custody and to pay $100,363 in restitution to his victims. "Many people make the mistake of thinking insurance fraud is a victimless white-collar crime," said Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones. "This agent left his clients at great financial risk when he failed to secure their policies, leaving them without the coverage they paid for." The California Department of Insurance launched an investigation after receiving multiple complaints, including one from an insurance carrier after a company attempted to file a claim for its injured employee under what turned FEBRUARY 2018
out to be a non-existent policy number and the other from a business owner who discovered they had no legitimate workers' compensation or liability coverage.
the scheme, Rollins issued false Certificates of Insurance, which listed the names of valid insurance carriers as the insurance providers of the fraudulent policies.
The investigation revealed that Rollins, while working as a licensed agent at an insurance agency, collected premium payments from several clients for workers' compensation and commercial general liability coverage, but failed to place coverage with any insurance carrier.
In addition to collecting premium payments for policies that were never placed, Rollins also allegedly presented himself as a registered stockbroker and accepted funds for investments from several victims. Rollins collected nearly $80,000 from various individuals, including insurance clients, under the guise that he was investing their money in stocks.
After leaving that insurance agency, Rollins continued to sell fraudulent policies under a corporation he registered with the Nevada Secretary of State, but never licensed by the California Department of Insurance.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, a non-governmental organization that regulates stockbrokers and brokerage firms, verified that Rollins has never been licensed in any capacity to act as a stockbroker.
The investigation revealed over $20,000 in premium payments Rollins collected from his victims, either made payable directly to him or to FDR Presidential Services, were spent on personal expenses and not forwarded to insurance carriers to obtain insurance coverage. To conceal
Rollins is no longer licensed as he failed to renew his license after it expired in March 2014. The Department of Insurance is taking appropriate administrative action against Rollins' license. The case was prosecuted by the Riverside County District Attorney's Office.
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10 HIDDEN THINGS THE FREE! SECRET SERVICE DOESN’T free insider WANT YOU TO KNOW... subscription! sign up yourself or any associate at this link
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NEWS
CALIFORNIA STATEWIDE WILDFIRE INSURANCE CLAIMS NEARLY $12 BILLION First claim numbers from So Cal’s December wildfires almost $2 billion
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OS ANGELES, Calif. — Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones today announced that insurers have received nearly 45,000 insurance claims totaling more than $11.79 billion in losses from the devastating wildfires that burned across the state in October and December 2017 damaging and destroying more than 32,000 homes, 4,300 businesses, more than 8,200 vehicles, watercraft, farm vehicles, and other Commissioner Jones took equipment. extraordinary actions under his “At nearly $12 billion in insured authority to protect survivors losses, these claim numbers are and make sure insurers deliver on staggering and represent the their promises to policyholders, costliest fires in California history,” so they may begin to recover said Insurance Commissioner and rebuild their lives after the Dave Jones. “The fires were wildfires ripped through more unprecedented for their severity than 14 counties in October and and disastrous consequences. December. One of Jones’ most Whole neighborhoods were recent actions included issuing a wiped out, as wind-driven flames formal notice to insurers asking destroyed thousands of homes, them to waive the requirement upended tens of thousands of for policyholders to submit a residents’ lives and tragically detailed home inventory and pay killed more than 45 people across up to 100 percent of contents coverage to spare survivors the the state.” arduous task of trying to recreate FEBRUARY 2018
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lists of every item they lost in the fires. Insurers that did agree to Jones’ December notice make up more than 98 percent of the total loss claims filed as a result of the 2017 wildfires. The department continues communicating with insurers that have not agreed to increase their advance payment on contents claims to determine if they will reconsider their position. Policyholders should contact their insurer to confirm how much advance payment will be issued and if there are any exceptions that may exist for their claim. www/underwritersinsider.com
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SPECIAL REPORT Continued From Page 40
PCI COMPLIANCE them“case management fees”, and American Express and Discover call them “noncompliance fees”. The total fine is frequently below $100,000. The merchant is responsible for notifying affected individuals, legal fees, forensic investigation and remediation charges, costs to revalidate PCI DSS compliance, and reimbursements to card issuers. In addition to fines, the PCI may impose Payment Network Recovery Assessments, where money is removed from the merchant’s account to establish a reserve fund for reimbursement of fraudulent charges. Actual merchant costs incurred vary based on the number of affected records and the extent to which their security systems failed to meet PCI DSS. The average total cost of a PCIrelated breach is between $3.5 to $3.7 million. It is not unusual for these assessments, which the costs incurred by the card issuer to pass on its costs in curing a breach, such as reissuance of cards. For a large company, the assessment costs might exceed 40
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notification, credit monitoring against a merchant (third-party and other first-party costs arising liability coverage). However, from a breach. understanding what policy is best can be confusing. It is important to note that when a breach happens, the A merchant might expect PCI PCI assumes the merchant to be DSS assessments to be covered out of compliance – even if the under cyber policies. However, merchant has done everything one merchant, P.F. Chang did the contract required and has and discovered they were wrong. done nothing wrong. The burden P.F. Chang suffered a breach of of proof is on the merchant, and approximately 60,000 credit card it can be a long and difficult records. Under its agreement process to prove “innocence” in with Chang’s processor, Bank of the PCI’s eyes. America (“BAM”), MasterCard imposed on BAM nearly $2 million PCI requirements and in penalties and assessments. governance can be daunting BAM then sought recovery of to understand. Organizations these costs from Chang. subject to the terms of PCI DSS face significant cash outlays Chang made a claim for coverage during and after a breach under its cyber insurance investigation. Fortunately, policy issued by Chubb. Chubb many cyber liability insurance declined coverage and the case policies can cover PCI fines and proceeded to summary judgment. lawsuits brought by cardholders Unfortunately for Chang, the Table of Contents
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SPECIAL REPORT court concluded that the policy even by lawyers representing issued by Chubb did not explicitly victims of PCI DSS breaches, may cover assessment costs. The partially account for this position. primary lesson of the case is that courts are unlikely to find coverage Many cyber policies are also vague from PCI -DSS assessment under a in their relevant policy language. cyber insurance policy unless there Another factor is the hesitancy is explicit coverage for PCI-DSS of insurers to commit a full policy assessments, limit to cover an due to the It is essential exposure that contractual is very difficult for sellers l i a b i l i t y to quantify, and e x c l u s i o n . and purchasers of cyber that arises from However, it is a liability that insurance to pay very imperative to is not the result close attention to their note that the of a contested scope of PCI- cyber policy wordings so proceeding. That DSS coverage reluctance can that there are no rude can vary widely affect insurers’ from policy to surprises if a payment interpretation policy. of the policy card data breach and lead them Because cyber to conclude happens.� coverage is sold that a sub-limit to cover loss from payment card for fines also applies to PCI DSS data breaches, purchasers naturally assessments. assume that liabilities resulting from the breach will be covered. Some carriers, for a substantial They do not expect policies to additional premium, will now cover exclude certain liabilities simply all PCI DSS fines and assessments, because they arise from their including the costs of restoration. merchant service agreements. However, not all insurance companies will offer such coverage That is nevertheless how many nor is it affordable for many small policies are structured, and when a and midsize businesses. claim is made insurers will enforce them. Cyber insurers have also As understanding of credit card regularly argued that small sub- transactions and PCI DSS fines limits for PCI DSS fines also apply and assessments grows it will be to PCI DSS assessments. Confusion easier for companies and their about what fines and assessments insurers to have a firm meeting of are, and imprecise use of those the minds about what is and isn’t terms in MSAs, and sometimes covered. When that will occur is FEBRUARY 2018
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still a mystery. For that reason, it is essential for purchasers of cyber insurance to pay very close attention to their cyber policy wordings so that there are no rude surprises if a payment card data breach happens.
Keith Daniels is the founder of CyberCounsel which is located in the Greater Minneapolis-Saint Paul area. I am an attorney and feefor-service consultant who works with small and midsize entities, independent insurance companies and individuals to determine their exposure and the best means of preventing and mitigating any loss before it happens. I can be reached at keith@mycybercounsel.com or 715-379-6511. I am available for speaking and consulting engagements.
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TECHNOLOGY keyboard shortcuts. Take a look at the taskbar at the bottom of your screen where you have program icons lined up, most likely including your web browser and the Windows file explorer, way to make your computer run among others. You can open faster when PCs had less storage those programs by hitting the than they do today. Disk Cleanup Windows key and the number fell by the wayside for most of us that corresponds to the location as PCs and laptops have become of the icon in the bar. more sophisticated. But your computer could still use a de- Let’s say, from left to right, you bloating now and again. have the File Explorer folder icon, the multi-colored round Chrome Disk Cleanup is a simple way to browser icon, and the blue “e” for delete files and to ensure your Microsoft’s Edge browser. Hold Recycle Bin is cleared out. On down the Windows key and press Windows 10, type “disk cleanup” “2,” and Chrome will open right up into your taskbar where it says, for you. It’s a quick way to access “Type here to search” >> Click your most popular apps without on Disk Cleanup app >> Put a reaching for your mouse. check mark next to each folder you want to be deleted, such as 5. Quick assist temporary files. We all have that tech-challenged family member, don’t we? It might 3. Malware removal be your Aunt Sally in Boise, your It’s more important than ever to best friend from high school or have a multilayered approach to your book-smart but computercybersecurity. Windows Defender novice dad. is a security tool that can be set up to block malware attacks in That’s why there’s Quick Assist. In real time or you can perform a Windows 10, type “quick assist” scan when you need it. into your taskbar >> Select Get Assistance or Give Assistance To make sure it’s on, type and then follow the onscreen “Windows Defender” into your instructions. taskbar >> Select Windows Defender app >> Make sure Real- 6. Video streaming time protection is on. If you’re like me, you probably don’t think about Windows 10 4. Open taskbar quickly to stream videos on your TV. You Windows 10 brought with it a can, though, using compatible slew of new and convenient devices such as Roku and Xbox Continued From Page 5
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One S. Type “media streaming” into the Windows 10 taskbar >> Select Media Streaming Options and follow the instructions. Related: Click here to watch Netflix offline with Windows 10. 7. Shake your Windows Here’s a fun one. If you have stacks and stacks of windows open, and you want to declutter down to just one, do this. Click on the top bar of your desired window, hold it down, and shake the mouse to instantly minimize all other open windows. Do it again to restore those windows. 8. Find slow programs You’re working on your computer, but it’s dragging. You want to shout “Hurry up!” as you wait for tabs to switch or changes to take hold. It’s time to find out what’s slowing you down, so open up the Task Manager and check out the “Processes” tab. It will show you which apps and background processes are running and how much of your CPU, memory, disk and network resources they are each hogging up. 9. Task Manager The Windows Task Manager was once a fairly straightforward feature, used mainly to forcequit an unresponsive program. The Windows 10 Task Manager is much more thorough. You can summon it through the right-click Start Menu or by FEBRUARY 2018
TECHNOLOGY hitting the traditional keyboard type “sfc /scannow.” To check for combination of Control-Alt- disk problems, type “chkdsk /f.” Delete and selecting it from the menu that appears. 13. Share files You and your family members 10. Track your apps probably send each other files When you open your regular Start all the time. You might send a Menu, you see a list of your apps document or a video by email. A running down the side. The most- better way is to set up everyone used apps are on top, but the rest in your house on a Windows are laid out in alphabetical order. network to share files. You could scroll through them all to find the one you want to open, You start by clicking on the Start but a quicker way to manage it button (the Windows icon on the is by clicking on any of the main lower-left side of your computer letters (like “A”). This opens up a screen). Then, go to Settings view of the entire alphabet. Just (the little gear icon) >> Network click on the first letter of the app & Internet >> HomeGroup >> you want, and you will be taken Create a HomeGroup. directly to that part of the Start Menu. 14. Print PDF 11. Task Scheduler Task Scheduler does what you think it does; it helps you schedule tasks on your computer, like turning it off at a specific time each day. Type “task scheduler” into your taskbar to get started.
If you print documents, you’re invariably hearing “send it to me as a PDF.” PDF is a file format that’s compatible across multiple operating systems and software programs. Windows 10 can easily convert a Word document into a PDF.
12. Find missing or corrupted To do this, go through the steps files to print as you normally would. Remember this: cmd. It’s a When you see the option to command prompt that can help choose a specific printer, select you find files that your Windows the one that says, “Microsoft Print operating system needs to work to PDF.”
key on your keyboard and the letter G at the same time. Follow the prompts to record. 16. Speed up your startup When your computer gets slow, access Task Manager and trim down the number of programs that load on startup. Click on the “Startup” tab, and you will see a list of all your programs, whether they’re enabled, and what sort of impact each one has on your startup time. Select a program and hit the “Disable” button to remove it from your start-up process. Scrutinize anything with a medium or high impact, but focus on programs you don’t use often. If you find an app eating more than its fair share, then you can shut it down by selecting it and clicking “End task.” Be aware that you may lose work when you do this, so save first if you can. Copyright 2018, WestStar Multimedia Entertainment. All rights reserved.
Learn about all the latest technology on the Kim Komando Show, the nation’s largest weekend properly. It can also help you fix radio talk show. Kim takes calls problems. 15. Record screen activity and dispenses advice on today’s We’re used to videos and online digital lifestyle, from smartphones Type “cmd” into the taskbar >> games occurring in real time, but and tablets to online privacy and Right-click on Command Prompt now you can record them for later data hacks. For her daily tips, free >> Select Run As Administrator. viewing. When you’re in the game newsletters and more, visit her To find missing or corrupted files, or video, click on the Windows website at Komando.com FEBRUARY 2018
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BECOME A CERTIFIED EXPERT IN CORPORATE PROPERTY INSURANCE AND A CERTIFIED EXPERT IN CORPORATE LIABILITY INSURANCE Now available from Illumeo and Barry Zalma!
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veryone involved in insurance – either as an insurer or as an insured – requires excellence in claims handling. Businesses need to deal with insurers who have an excellence in claimshandling mandate. Insurers who wish to profit need an excellence in property and/or liability claims-handling program. Everyone in business needs an insurer who has an excellence in property or liability claims-handling program in effect. Two comprehensive programs enabling insurance professionals to become Certified Expert in Corporate Property Insurance and/ or Certified Experts in Corporate Liability Insurance are available from Illumeo.com and https://www.illumeo.com/curriculum/certifiedexpert-corporate-property-insurance and https://www.illumeo.com/ curriculum/certified-expert-corporate-liability-insurance. The programs are complete courses of study providing education and training to allow insurance professionals, after completing the individual classes, to become a Certified Expert. The programs cover everything an employee, an officer, or a director of a corporation needs to know about the need to acquire proper insurance and to resolve any claim presented by the corporation to the insurer. Major topics of study include, but are not limited to: the importance of insurance; how to acquire insurance and understand an insurance policy; the methods used by insurers to investigate claims; the various types of insurance that corporations need; the duties and obligations of a public adjuster; and how The full curriculum of the courses and other courses from Barry Zalma are available at http:// www.ilumeo.com by entering in the search bar the word “zalma.”
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