The Costs Associated with Hurricanes that You Don’t Hear About

Posted on September 10, 2008 by Pete Kosowski

DATELINE: WESTBOROUGH, MA...

When hurricanes and tropical storms like Gustav, Hanna and Ike barrel through coastal towns, the damage caused makes great footage for the evening news. Yet it’s the damage you don’t see, misrepresentation of assets on insurance claims following hurricanes, that can add up to be another huge expense. L&W Investigations, a private investigations firm specializing in insurance claims, has seen firsthand the abuses of insurance claims following a natural disaster.

These abuses stem largely from most people not carrying "Act of God" or natural disaster insurance. That means repairing damage caused by a hurricane comes out of their own pocket. To lessen the financial impact of the damage caused by a storm like Gustav, some unscrupulous homeowners will claim damage or missing items from their home by vandals, things that might be covered on a homeowner’s policy.

"There’s no question that things get damaged during hurricanes and there’s additional damage caused in the aftermath, like looting, vandalism and other illegal activity. But when somebody puts in a claim for five 48-inch plasma TVs and a treasure chest of Tiffany jewelry, you know something is a bit fishy and that’s usually where we come in," said Neal Lyons, chairman and CEO of L&W Investigations.

There are any number of red flags in a claim following a hurricane that can tip off insurance companies and their investigators of wrongdoing. Some of those include:

Policy date and date of the hurricane – if these dates are within a few days of each other, that’s a red flag.

Burglaries where little or no damage occurs to the house.

Economic factors – homeowner owes more on the house or property than it’s worth; location and neighborhood of the home.

While many insurance companies employ special investigations units to examine these claims, the volume of cases, particularly in the aftermath of a hurricane, requires the assistance of private investigations firms like L&W Investigations. L&W conducts site inspections, interviews with neighbors and takes limited and comprehensive scope statements (recorded, if necessary).

"A hurricane can wreak tremendous havoc on a home and you feel a certain degree of sympathy for people, particularly folks who have to rebuild their homes from scratch. Yet that in no way justifies insurance fraud. Especially when you consider the costs associated with it run in the billions," said Lyons. "Does that mean every homeowner impacted by hurricane will try and take advantage of the circumstances. No, far from it. But with a price tag in the billions, it behooves the insurance companies to know if it’s a legit claim or not."

L&W Investigations works exclusively on workers compensation, disability, liability, auto and property claims. With its network of investigations offices across the U.S. and Canada, Puerto Rico and the Hawaiian Islands, L&W boasts a client roster of more than 100 clients, ranging from insurance companies to third-party administrators, self-insured companies to law firms and municipalities.

L&W employs seasoned investigators who specialize in investigating insurance cases and claims. All L&W investigators go through extensive training and have access to the most state-of-the-art surveillance equipment. Among L&W’s offerings are: surveillance; statements; activity/disability checks; asset/background investigations; and medical audits/clinic inspections.

Not Your Everyday Investigations Firm
L&W Investigations, Inc. specializes in investigating insurance cases and claims. In addition to providing nationwide coverage, L&W investigators are highly trained specialists equipped with state-of-the-art surveillance technologies and other advanced systems to provide second-to-none results and service. That includes online case status reports, video delivery by digital download or CD, DVD or VHS tape, rush services at no extra charge and much more.

L&W Investigations offices are located across the U.S. and the Hawaiian Islands as well as in Canada and Puerto Rico. Offices are still available and the company has set a manageable growth plan at 15 new offices per year.