A federal jury in Mississippi has ruled that State Farm committed fraud against the government's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) by submitting a fraudulent flood claim following Hurricane Katrina.
The eight-member jury reportedly deliberated for about 3 hours on the whistleblower lawsuit filed 7 years ago by former independent insurance adjusters Cori and Kerri Rigsby against State Farm under the False Claims Act. The case was limited to the home of Thomas and Pamela McIntosh of North Biloxi, Miss., because a judge had previously ruled it was the only home for which the Rigsbys had firsthand knowledge of the alleged fraud.
According to court documents, the jury found that State Farm overcharged the NFIP $250,000, which the carrier will have to repay. That amount—the full flood policy limit—was paid to the McIntoshes, along with $36,000 for wind damages covered by their State Farm homeowners' policy. Undetermined damages, to which the Rigsbys are entitled as filers of the suit, could also be awarded.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
