People News: Auto-Owners, Concord General, CAIF

Auto-Owners Insurance and Concord General Mutual Insurance announce that their affiliation has been approved effective April 1, 2017, by policyholders and all regulatory bodies.

Auto-Owners is an A.M. Best A++ (Superior) rated multi-line property and casualty insurer, operating solely through independent agencies in 26 states. Auto-Owners also owns a life company and an excess & surplus lines company.

Concord General Mutual Insurance is a property and casualty insurance provider through independent agencies in Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

Global loss adjuster, McLarens, introduced a new Crisis Management division. Led by John Turner out of Boston, Mass., the team will focus on developing strategic growth and support to the product recall, war, political violence and terrorism speciality markets. Turner brings nearly 30 years’ experience to McLarens both in claims adjusting and underwriting, having most recently been head of Product Recall for XL Catlin’s North American Crisis Management operation.

Managers overseeing regional teams include Tim Hollinrake and Tony Chapman in Asia Pacific, Esteban Fernandez and Juan Carlos Lancheros Rueda in Latin America, George Wasielke in North America, David Watts and David Fillingham in Europe, and Malcolm Addy in the Middle East.

Insurance Fraud Attorney Joins Coalition Staff for Government Affairs

Insurance fraud attorney Matthew Smith has been named associate director of government affairs for the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud.

Smith will help guide the Coalition’s legislative and regulatory advocacy efforts as well as serve as general counsel.

Smith founded one of the nation’s largest law firms specializing in insurance fraud litigation. Cincinnati-based Smith Rolfes & Skavdahl has eight offices throughout the midwest and Florida. The firm’s lawyers have handled insurance matters in 43 states. Smith Rolfes broke new ground by specializing on all aspects of insurer defense against insurance fraud, from investigations to civil actions.

He has won more than 100 civil actions including cases against home and commercial insurance arsonists, chiropractors that fraudulently overbill, pill mills, MRI clinics and other insurance swindlers. Many appellate decisions have set significant court precedents.

Smith also pioneered using data from cell towers as evidence in civil insurance-fraud cases — now standard practice for insurance-fraud cases around the U.S. He also pioneered searches of social-media to gather evidence of suspected fraud.

Smith Rolfes was founded in 1989. Smith now serves as of-counsel, focusing on government work with the Coalition and other fraud-related work.

He has served as president or on boards and committees of numerous anti-fraud groups such as the International Association of SIUs, the National Society of Professional Insurance Investigators and International Association of Arson Investigators.

A prolific author and lecturer, Smith has written more than a 100 articles and is a sought-after presenter by anti-fraud and civic groups.

Smith has served as legal adviser to the Coalition for the last three years. He led efforts to file amici actions to help ensure state courts properly interpret anti-fraud statutes.

Before founding Smith Skavdahl, Smith was at attorney at two other law firms and general counsel at a South Florida real-estate firm. An Ohio native, Smith graduated from Northern Kentucky University School of Law.