Everything Needed by the Insurance Claims Professional from Barry Zalma
Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE
Insurance claims expert, consultant at Barry Zalma, Inc. and author/Publisher at ClaimSchool, Inc.
Posted on November 25, 2020 by Barry Zalma
Insurance Claims Library
Over the last 53 years Barry Zalma has dedicated his life to insurance, insurance claims and the need to defeat insurance fraud. He has created the following library of books and other materials to make it for insurers and their claims staff to become insurance claims professionals.
Ethics for the Insurance Professional – Second Edition
How the Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing Requires Ethical Insurance Representatives
Insurance is, by definition, a business of the utmost good faith. This means that both parties to the contract of insurance must act fairly and in good faith to each other and do nothing that will deprive the other of the benefits the contract of insurance promised.
Without the covenant of good faith and fair dealing and ethical people who work in the insurance industry applying and fulfilling the covenant, insurance is impossible. One cannot act fairly and in good faith without being a person with a well-formed ethical compass.
In Carter v. Boehm S.C. 1 Bl. Burr 1906, 11th May 1766. 593, 3 Lord Mansfield in the British House of Lords stated: “Good faith forbids either party by concealing what he privately knows, to draw the other into a bargain, from his ignorance of that fact, and his believing the contrary.” Insurers, when making a decision to insure or not insure a risk, rely on the information provided to them by the insured. As Lord Mansfield instructed, the insured must provide the information requested honestly and in good faith.
The implied covenant explains that no party to a contract of insurance should do anything to deprive the other of the benefits of the contract.
The implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing imposes obligations not only as to claims by a third party but also as to those by the insured. When the insurer unreasonably and in bad faith withholds payment of the claim of its insured, it is subject to liability in tort. For the insurer to fulfill its obligation not to impair the right of the insured to receive the benefits of the agreement, it again must give at least as much consideration to the latter=s interests as it does to its own.
Therefore, since, at least 1766, the business of insurance is a business of the utmost good faith, that is, each party to a contract of insurance must deal with each other ethically. The general duty of good faith and fair dealing incorporated by reference into every policy of insurance requires a complete understanding of ethics and ethical behavior.
In every insurance contract there is an implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing that neither party will do anything which will injure the right of the other to receive the benefits of the agreement.
The Little Book on Ethics for the American Lawyer
The practice of law demands more than knowledge of statutory and case law. It requires more than technical proficiency in the nuts and bolts of legal practice. A lawyer is an officer of the legal system whose conduct should conform to the requirements of the law, both in professional service to clients and in the lawyer’s business and personal affairs.
The practice of law requires that every lawyer treat each client, each adversary, and the court ethically and in good faith.
The practice of law is different from other professions because it requires that the lawyer act for his or her client, not him or herself, only if the actions for the client are ethical and in good faith.
What is Ethical Behavior?
The concept of ethical behavior refers to well-founded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues, all of which are essential to the lawyer.
Ethics, for example, refers to those standards that impose the reasonable obligations to refrain from murder, rape, theft, assault, slander, and fraud. Ethical standards also include those that imply virtues of honesty, compassion, and loyalty.
There are rights presumed to exist such as those described in the Declaration of Independence submitted to King George of England in 1776 that held: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The unalienable rights also include the right to life, the right to freedom from injury, and the right to liberty. Such standards are adequate standards of ethics because they are supported by consistent and well-founded reasons.
Ethics, for example, refers to those standards that impose the reasonable obligations to refrain from murder, rape, theft, assault, slander, and fraud. Ethical standards also include those that imply virtues of honesty, compassion, and loyalty.
There are rights presumed to exist such as those described in the Declaration of Independence submitted to King George of England in 1776 that held: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The unalienable rights also include the right to life, the right to freedom from injury, and the right to liberty. Such standards are adequate standards of ethics because they are supported by consistent and well-founded reasons.
Ethics also refers to the study and development of one’s standards of conduct.
Feelings, laws, and social norms can deviate from what is ethical. It is necessary, especially to people involved in the practice of law, to constantly examine one’s standards to ensure that they are reasonable and well-founded conduct that ethically treats a client, an adversary, and the court with the utmost good faith.
There is no single answer to the question of what is ethical behavior by a lawyer. Ethical behavior is subjective and fact dependent.
Available as a Kindle book here.
Available as a paperback here.
Random Thoughts on Insurance
After more than 53 years acting as a claims person and insurance coverage lawyer I enjoy reading court decisions concerning insurance. The idea of this blog is to find new cases that are interesting to me and then write a summary. Some of the cases reviewed will be important. Some may be of first impression. Others will be totally unimportant. All will be interesting.
The case digests and articles from 2010 to the present, now in elenven volumes, where I digest cases published by courts of the various states and the United States.
The court decisions have been modified from the actual language of the court decisions, were condensed for ease of reading, and convey the opinions of the author regarding each case.
? 2020 – Barry Zalma
Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, now limits his practice to service as an insurance consultant 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 practiced law in California for more than 44 years as an insurance coverage and claims handling lawyer and more than 52 years in the insurance business. He is available at https://www.zalma.com and [email protected].
Mr. Zalma is the first recipient of the first annual Claims Magazine/ACE Legend Award.
Over the last 52 years Barry Zalma has dedicated his life to insurance, insurance claims and the need to defeat insurance fraud. He has created the following library of books and other materials to make it possible for insurers and their claims staff to become insurance claims professionals.
https://zalma.com/zalmas-insurance-fraud-letter-2/Read last two issues of ZIFL here.
Go to Barry Zalma videos at Rumble.com at https://rumble.com/c/c-262921
Read posts from Barry Zalma at https://parler.com/profile/Zalma/posts
Listen to the Podcast: Zalma on Insurance https://anchor.fm/dashboard/episodesZalma on Insurance
Go to Barry Zalma on YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCysiZklEtxZsSF9DfC0Expg/
Go to the Insurance Claims Library –https://zalma.com/blog/insurance-claims-library/