Articles Posted in Researching Experts

In Avoiding the $475,000 Mistake – Entering the Credit Bid attorney John L. Hosack, Buchalter Nemer, and mortgages expert witness Joffrey Long write:

How to proceed with your trustee’s sale:

In the case we referenced above, the total balance of all amounts due on the note was $575,000 and the property value was $500,000. You would open the bidding at $100,000. Instructions would then be issued to the trustee that should there be other bids at the sale, the trustee is to increase your credit bid in increments of $2,000, until either 1) the bidding reaches an amount acceptable to you or 2) you acquire the property. With no other bidders, the property reverts to you in exchange for your “giving up” only $100,000 or your debt. The other $475,000 has not been paid. Through this one simple maneuver, you’ve preserved the ability to pursue the collection of the remaining $475,000 of your debt from insurers, guarantors, or other parties to the transaction.

Insurance class action expert witnesses may testify on insurance regulations, professional liability insurance, agent errors and omissions, the insurance industry, and correlated topics. In Insurance May Cover Class Action Costs for Merchants Who Recorded Customers’ Zip Codes, attorneys Robert L. Wallan and Kimberly L. Buffington write:

The California Supreme Court’s Pineda v. Williams-Sonoma has already spawned a wave of class action lawsuits, many of which may constitute covered losses under a business’s Directors and Officers (D&O) or Commercial General Liability (CGL) insurance policies.

Read more: Perspectives on Insurance Recovery Newsletter (Summer 2011).

Professional liability insurance expert witnesses may write reports and opine on professional indemnity insurance, errors & omissions insurance, and malpractice insurance, among other topics. On the website Everything Small Business, find the article Small Business Liability Insurance – The 4 Types That You Need To Protect Your Business:

Other Types of Small Business Liability Insurance

Just as health insurance for small business is vital to the owner to protect the business entity, these types of insurances also work to protect the business against loss in the event of a third party claim. The type of business one owns will determine the type of insurance plans you will purchase.

Real estate management liability insurance expert witnesses may testify on property insurance, insurance fraud, and affiliated matters. Stateside Underwriting Agency explains what property manager liability insurance entails:

property manager liability insurance liability insurance for property preservation wrongful eviction coverage tenant discrimination insurance….

Read more: statesideunderwriting.com.

Hazard identification expert witnesses may write reports and opine on risk assessment, disaster risk management, as well as related issues. At its website, FEMA offers Hazus, a methodology for estimating potential losses from disasters.

Hazus is a nationally applicable standardized methodology that contains models for estimating potential losses from earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes.

Hazus uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology to estimate physical, economic, and social impacts of disasters. It graphically illustrates the limits of identified high-risk locations due to earthquake, hurricane, and floods. Users can then visualize the spatial relationships between populations and other more permanently fixed geographic assets or resources for the specific hazard being modeled, a crucial function in the pre-disaster planning process.

Vulnerability assessment expert witnesses may testify on risk assessment in energy supply systems, IT systems, and communication systems. The SAINT Corporation explains that “new vulnerabilities are discovered at an astonishing rate….The number one threat to infrastructures today is known vulnerabilities.”

Read more: www.saintcorporation.com.

Insurance fraud expert witnesses may write reports and consult on insurance claims, insurance carriers, the insurance industry, and affiliated matters. On its website, The Insurance Information Institute offers informative articles including Fraud and Abuse In No-Fault Auto Insurance System Results In a Substantial ‘Fraud Tax’ for Florida’s Drivers, I.I.I. Finds.

Read more: iii.org.

Property insurance expert witnesses may write reports and consult on insurance claims, insurance carriers, the insurance industry, and affiliated matters. On its website, The Insurance Information Institute offers informative articles including Personal Lines P-C Insurance Markets: Trends, Challenges & Opportunities for 2012 & Beyond written by insurance expert and economist Robert P. Hartwig, Ph.D., CPCU.

The I.I.I. has provided definitive insurance information for over 50 years. See: iii.org.

Medical insurance expert witnesses may opine on health insurance claims, medical insurance deductibles, and related topics. In Understanding Co-Payments, Deductibles and Co-Insurance Scott Cornelius, board member of the Independent Agents of Oklahoma City, writes:

But health insurance companies take their position as insurers very seriously and they have a method for dealing with the risk of claims. First, they underwrite applications so that they fully understand the risks presented by each individual applicant (and for group insurance they look at the experience of similar groups). Next they review the applicant’s choice of policy so they can decide what rates they need to charge based on the risks that are self-insured through flexible policy options such as deductibles, co-insurance and limits. Finally, they structure each policy with a set of pre-determined prices (also called co-payments) for different medical treatment and the service of certain providers.

All these different facets of a health insurance policy can be very confusing, but understanding the differences between co-payments, deductibles and co-insurance is probably the most difficult.

Media piracy experts may consult on online infringement, international IP piracy, pirated goods, and correlated matters. In an effort to strengthen copyright enforcement online, the U.S. House of Representatives is now debating H.R.3261, The Stop Online Piracy Act.

Stop Online Piracy Act – Authorizes the Attorney General (AG) to seek a court order against a U.S.-directed foreign Internet site committing or facilitating online piracy to require the owner, operator, or domain name registrant, or the site or domain name itself if such persons are unable to be found, to cease and desist further activities constituting specified intellectual property offenses under the federal criminal code including criminal copyright infringement, unauthorized fixation and trafficking of sound recordings or videos of live musical performances, the recording of exhibited motion pictures, or trafficking in counterfeit labels, goods, or services.

Read more: thomas.loc.gov.