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ACM’s Property Team vs. the Record-Breaking Winter of 2015

Better weather in the past few months has brought a much-needed reprieve for ACM’s Property Division. “We had a very busy first half of 2015 with record-breaking winter weather in the Northeast, followed by hail and rains in Texas and Oklahoma,” said Property Vice President Tim Allen. “Our employees did a great job managing through the various CATs, including maintaining low cycle times and helping policyholders through the claims process, while settling over 2,000 CAT claims in a short period of time.”

Next came Hurricane Erika, headed for the U.S. coastline. ACM was ready: Call centers were prepared for high volumes of claim reports, policy counts in potentially impacted states were tracked, clients were updated on plans and field adjusters were standing by as needed.

As the hurricane took specific aim at Florida, one question surfaced: What would happen if the Tampa office itself had to close due to weather?

“ACM has offices around the country, with strong continuity planning and redundancy,” explained Dhara Patel, ACM Property Casualty President. “Our automation capabilities are state-of-the-art, with comprehensive remote access. With minimal training, any employee with an internet connection can access our secure portal and provide seamless claims service nationwide.”

ACM’s remote capabilities include not only access to claim systems, but remote access to e-mail, voice mail, shared drives and detailed policy information. “Customers expect us to be there when they need us,” said Tim Allen, “and we go to great lengths to plan for all contingencies.”

New Northern California Office Is Open for Business

Our new Northern California office location in Roseville, CA opened in early August. The new office will house ACM’s already established team of claims industry professionals within the region, while providing additional capacity for increased customer support, data management and comprehensive claim administration for ACM’s more than 30,000 clients. Kids enjoy classes in their new school.

Both American Claims Management and parent company Arrowhead General Insurance Agency, Inc. will host an informal meet and greet on Oct. 22 at Paul Martin’s American Grill, 1455 Eureka Road in Roseville to celebrate the new office’s grand opening. If you’re close to the area, please stop by and celebrate with us from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Celebrating One Year Anniversary in Denver Office

ACM’s Denver office recently celebrated its first anniversary of handling claims for OnPoint Underwriting’s Program for Sovereign Indian Nations. The Program for Sovereign Indian Nations provides multiline, niche insurance coverage that meets the unique cultural, financial and legal requirements for tribal nations.

Upcoming Industry Conferences – See You There!

Stop by to visit with ACM team members at the following upcoming industry events:

• Pacific Claims Executive Association Fall Conf., Oct. 8-10 in Portland, OR
• 12th Annual IRSF San Diego Charity Golf Tournament , Oct. 16 in San Diego, CA
• Target Markets Program Administrators Association, Oct. 26-28 in Scottsdale, AZ
• California Self Insured Group Annual Conf., Nov. 6 in Sacramento, CA
• National WC & Disability Conference Annual Conf., Nov. 11-13 in Las Vegas, NV
• Professional Liability Underwriting Society Annual Conf., Nov. 11 Dallas, TX

ACM’s Charity Initiatives – Children’s Heritage Foundation Update

As a follow up to our last edition of the ACM Newsletter, here is the latest “Donations at Work” update from Children’s Heritage Foundation Director Steve Denney regarding the construction efforts of the new elementary school project at Good Rest Orphanage in Haiti:

“Thanks to your efforts, phase one of construction of the school has been fully funded and the construction began last February. If all goes well, we plan to re-open the orphanage school in the fall after five years of being closed due to the devastating earthquake. The other really great thing about funding the school project is the provision of work in a country with 70%+ unemployment. We have trained seven young men in construction and they are the builders of this school. This project is providing three to four months of full-time employment – more money than any of them have ever made in an entire year.”

“Thanks to American Claims Management for their fundraising for this very worthy cause.” — Steve Denney, Director, Children’s Heritage Foundation. (Learn more)

Saving Our Clients Money: Success Stories

Here’s another example of how ACM and Investigative Solutions, Inc. saved our clients money.

Paint Me a Picture of Restitution and Savings – Another Arrest & Conviction

This workers’ compensation claim started off as an accepted litigated case involving a 47-year-old painter with injury to the bilateral hands. However, the cervical spine, lumbar spine and left leg were added. The case was referred to Investigation Solutions, Inc. on the basis that the claimant appeared to be exaggerating his symptoms to obtain workers’ compensation benefits. Two separate days of video surveillance found the claimant to be working, performing his usual and customary job duties, showing no hesitation in movement and appearing to be uninjured.

A CA Fraud Division -1 (FD-1) form was filed with the District Attorney. In August 2015 the Department of Insurance investigator advised that a warrant was issued June 12, 2015; on July 7 the claimant surrendered. Arraignments took place July 9 and 23, 2015; felony plea bargain/settlement occurred August 1, 2015. The claimant pled guilty to two counts of insurance fraud (1871.4) and one count of perjury. He was to serve 45 days in jail on the weekends, has three years of probation and must make restitution payments totaling $18,200.

Result: Arrest and conviction
Estimated Savings: $96,000.00+.