ARIZONA INSURANCE CLAIMS ASSOCIATION
AICA BULLETIN March 2011 Volume 9, Issue 7
ED HOCHULI, JONES, SKELTON & HOC HULI, P.L.C. MEETING DETAILS Edward G. Hochuli has been a partner with Jones, Skelton & Hochuli since it was founded in 1983. During that time, DATE: WEDNESDAY, he has tried well over 150 civil jury trials to verdict. Mr. Ho- March 16, 2011 chuli concentrates his practice on professional liability de-
TIME: Social Hour 5 p.m. fense, extra-contractual and bad faith defense, transporta- Dinner/Meeting 6 p.m. tion defense, and products liability defense (including medical device). PLACE: Doubletree Hotel 44th & Van Buren He is a member of the Federation of Defense and Corpo-
RSVP: By March 14th rate Counsel and an advocate member of the American online at Board of Trial Advocates. He is also a Director of the www.aicaonline.org, Trucking Industry Defense Association and the USLAW via e-mail at Network. Mr. Hochuli is a 1976 graduate of the University [email protected] of Arizona College of Law and is admitted to practice in or by phone at Arizona state and federal courts and the Ninth Circuit Court (480) 206-4297 of Appeals. COST: $25 per person— current Members Mr. Hochuli is also an American football official in the Na- tional Football League (NFL) since the 1990 NFL season. $40 per person— His uniform number is 85. Prior to his officiating career, he Non-members played college football for four seasons at the University of
FREE for the first 25 Texas at El Paso (UTEP). STAFF adjusters/managers that RSVP Mr. Hochuli is one of the most respected officials in the NFL, having worked numerous playoff games, including Payment can be made online using two Super Bowls. He is also known for his explanations on the football field. In a poll con- PayPal at www.aicaonline.org or by ducted by ESPN in 2008, Hochuli tied referee Mike Carey for "best referee" votes among cash or check at the meeting. NFL head coaches with eight. Beginning his twenty-first season in the league and nine- Please make sure you cancel your teenth as referee (crew chief) with the 2010 NFL season, Hochuli's officiating crew con- reservation at least 24 hours in sists of umpire Chad Brown, head linesman Mark Hittner, line judge Tom Symonette, field advance if you are unable to at- judge Craig Wrolstad, side judge Ronald Torbert and back judge Don Carey. tend. Late cancellations and no- shows will be billed.
Inside this issue: AICA GIVES BACK President’s Message 2 Each year, the neous support of people who learned of President of the catastrophic events and the Red Cross’s Door Prize Donations 2 United States pro- response to them. News of an event claims March "Red broke. The American Red Cross rushed to Golf Tournament 3 Cross Month". How the scene with help. People around the did this tradition country came forth with outpourings of Expert’s Corner 6 come about? volunteer assistance and donations of funds and supplies. AICA Officers & Board 8 Since Clara Barton created the American Members Red Cross in 1881, it was largely depend- The American Red Cross is where people ent for publicity and funds on the sponta- (Continued on page 7) AICA BULLETIN Page 2
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
It's that time of year, March Madness! I hope you are winning in your tourna- ment pool.
We have an exciting guest speaker this month, Ed Hochuli of the law firm Jones, Skelton & Hochuli. He will be discussing Arizona Law and he might even throw in a football tale. You may not know it but he is also a referee for the National Football League.
Don't forget our annual golf outing is fast approaching. Be sure to get signed up early. There are not many spots left.
See you at our meeting!
Joe Hendren, AICA President 480-563-3838 [email protected]
FEBRUARY DOOR PRIZE DONATIONS
Thank you to all of our wonderful companies who donate door prizes for our monthly meetings. We appreciate your generosity and support.
Kowalski Construction: Steve Kowalski
SOS Restoration: Nanette Varela
Damage Control: Terri Yakich
Sun Country Restoration: Rita Megui
Badger Restoration : Glenn Brennan
CRDN: Karen Hartmann
ServiceMaster All Care: Mike Benner Page 3 VOLUME 9, ISSUE 7
GOLF TOURNAMENT
Please join us for the annual aica golf tournament
Friday, April 29th 7 a.m. Stonecreek golf club 4425 e. paradise village parkway south in phoenix
Player Registration and Sponsorship forms can be found on the next 2 pages
Hurry!—the registration deadline is march 31, 2011
STONECREEK GOLF CLUB AICA BULLETIN Page 4 AICA BULLETIN Page 5 AICA BULLETIN Page 6
EXPERT’S CORNER — NICB — QUESTIONABLE CLAIMS UP 24 PERCENT SINCE 2008 February 24, 2011 By Eric Gilkey, referrals was also found (-2 percent) PropertyCasualty360.com In casualty, there was an overall increase of referrals from Questionable claims referred to the National Insurance 2009 of 19 percent. The largest increases involved exces- Crime Bureau have risen by sive treatment (30 percent), 24 percent since 2008, driven inflated billing (27 percent), by large percentage increases staged/caused accidents in auto glass fraud and inflated (26 percent), and billing for towing/storage bills. services not rendered (25 percent). In terms of de- That’s according to the NICB’s creases for this category, annual Forecast Report, which only slip-and-fall referrals analyzes referral reasons dropped in number (-1 per- made by its member compa- cent). nies that are suspicious of fraud in the following catego- ries: Property, Casualty, Com- Vehicle referral reasons rose four percent over 2009 mercial, Workers’ Compensa- largely because of two cate- tion, Vehicle, and Miscellane- gories. Suspected auto ous. glass fraud referrals in-
According to the report, the creased from 397 in 2009 to number of questionable claims 2,182 in 2010, an increase of 450 percent, while refer- referred to NICB totaled al- rals for suspected fraud most 92,000 in 2010. That’s involving towing and stor- an 8.7 percent increase from 2009’s figures (84.407), and age bills increased from 289 24 percent higher than the in 2009 to 624 in 2010, an increase of 116 percent. total number reported in 2008 (74,146). Miscellaneous referrals rose by 18 percent over 2009, Property, Casualty, Vehicle, led by vendor fraud (84 per- and Miscellaneous all showed an increase in referral reasons cent), attorney activities (43 overall from 2009 to 2010. percent), organized group/ ring activity (36 percent), and medical provider suspicions (30 percent). There were Property-related referrals rose by 10 percent over 2009. no decreases reported from 2009 in any category. The big gainers included hail damage (up 55 percent) and flood/water damage (21 percent). A decrease in fire/arson (Continued on page 7) Page 7 VOLUME 9, ISSUE 7
EXPERT’S CORNER CONT’D
(Continued from page 6) terial misrepresentation on employment application (21 Commercial and workers’ compensation categories both percent). Decreases in referrals over 2009 were seen in showed an overall decrease in total referrals made from duplicate billing (-53 percent) and false loss of wages (-15 2009 to 2010. However, for commercial categories, the percent). overall referrals dropped by just .2 percent. Increases over 2009 in this category were seen in cargo theft (40 percent) ABOUT THE AUTHOR and farm loss (33 percent), while commercial auto theft Eric Gilkey is Editor of PropertyCasualty360.com. He may dropped by 21 percent, and construction/farm/heavy be reached at [email protected]. equipment questionable claims (not theft) dropped by 20 percent.
In workers’ comp, while overall referrals decreased by four A SPECIAL REPRINT percent, there were significant increases over 2009 in the © Entire contents copyright by 2011 PropertyCasu- categories of inflated medical billing (38 percent) and ma- alty360, A Summit Business Media website. All rights reserved. www.propertycasualty360.com
AICA GIVES BACK CONT’D
(Continued from page 1) Red Cross helps restore hope and dignity to the world's mobilize to help their neighbors—across the street, most vulnerable people. across the country, and across the world—in emergen- cies. Each year, in communities large and small, victims An average of 91 cents of every dollar the Red Cross of some 70,000 disasters turn to neighbors familiar and spends is invested in humanitarian services and pro- new—the more than half a million volunteers and 35,000 grams. The Red Cross is not a government agency; it employees of the Red Cross. relies on donations of time, money and blood to do its work. Through nearly 700 locally supported chapters, more than 15 million people gain the skills they need to prepare for In Recognition of Presidential Proclamation, the AICA and respond to emergencies in their homes, communities Gives Back charity of the month is the American Red and world. Cross. Proceeds from the 50/50 raffle will be donated so Some four million people give blood—the gift of life— please participate and let's support this worthy cause. through the Red Cross, making it the largest supplier of blood and blood products in the United States. The Red Cross also helps thousands of U.S. service members separated from their families by military duty stay con- nected.
As part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, a global network of 186 national societies, the ARIZONA INSURANCE CLAIMS ASSOCIATION
Mailing Address 2303 N. 44th Street, Suite 14-1502 Phoenix, AZ 85008
We’re on the Web! www.aicaonline.org
2011 OFFICERS & BOAR D M E M B E R S
PRESIDENT TREASURER MEMBER AT LARGE Joe Hendren, GA Robin Werth, AIC Rita Megui AmeriClaim Berkley Risk Administrators Sun Country Restoration 480-563-3838 [email protected] 866-72-FLOOD [email protected] [email protected]
VICE PRESIDENT MEMBER AT LARGE MEMBER AT LARGE Bruce McNeil, AIC Jenifer Kimbrell Mike Benner MACS Independent, LLC. Pinnacle Restoration ServiceMaster All Care 480-215-8538 480-206-4297 623-256-4931 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
SECRETARY MEMBER AT LARGE GOLF CZAR Nadine Mar, CCLA, AIC, ARM Nanette Varela Dale Schantz Scottsdale Insurance Company SOS Restoration Schantz Construction 480-365-2717 602-615-2699 623-825-7872 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]