EASTERN NEWS ZONE......

An Essex County, Massachusetts Grand Jury has returned indictments against a Seabrook, New Hampshire, woman in connection with embellishing several insurance claims and fraudulently collecting lost wages.

Ana Keegan, 39, formerly of Haverhill, is charged with Motor Vehicle Insurance Fraud (3 counts), Larceny over $250 (2 counts), and Attempted Larceny (2 counts).

The Attorney General’s Office began an investigation into Keegan’s alleged activities after a referral was made by the Massachusetts Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB). Authorities allege that in August 2002, Keegan suffered legitimate injuries from a dog biting incident and received a settlement from her insurer, State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. (State Farm). Investigators further discovered that Keegan sustained additional injuries as the result of an auto accident in February 2003, at which time she reported her injuries to MetLife Auto & Home Insurance Co. (MetLife). Authorities allege that in an effort to embellish her claim with MetLife, Keegan also cited the injuries she sustained from her previously settled August 2002 claim.

In response to her claim, MetLife paid Keegan $20,000 in compensation for her total injuries and purported loss of wages as result of the accident. According to authorities, at the time of the accident Keegan claimed to be employed at John D’s Deli, a restaurant/bar that closed in July 2002, before any of the alleged injuries occurred.

In addition, authorities allege that on three separate instances occurring on diverse dates in April 2003, September 2004, and January 2005, Keegan made embellished insurance claims as the result of minor motor vehicle accidents citing the injuries, medical reports, and loss of wage claims from the August 2002 and February 2003 settlements.

An Essex County Grand Jury returned indictments against Keegan late on Friday, June 12. Keegan is scheduled to be arraigned on July 7, 2009, in Essex Superior Court in Salem.

• The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York today commended the New York Insurance Department for a proposed rule change that will make doing business easier for New York insurance brokers.
  
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• The change, published in the June 17 edition of New York State Register, amends the so-called “export list,” the list of insurance classes and coverages which an excess line broker may place with an unlicensed insurance company without first having them rejected by licensed insurers. New York law and regulations prohibit excess line brokers from placing coverage for most types of accounts with an unlicensed company unless they can show that at least three companies licensed in New York have rejected them. However, the law allows the Insurance Department to exempt coverages from this requirement “upon findings and conclusions” based on “relevant market conditions.” Working closely with the Excess Line Association of New York and other trade groups, IIABNY has urged an expansion of the export list to include several coverages and classifications for which licensed insurers have little appetite.
  
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• Former chairs of the board Neal Sullivan and Sharon Emek and Director of Research and External Communications Tim Dodge testified at a June 2008 Insurance Department public hearing in support of the expansion. The proposed rule would exempt brokers from having to show prior rejections for a number of coverages, including liability coverage for most types of construction contractors, property coverage for very high-value buildings, professional liability coverage for institutions such as alcohol and drug rehabilitation centers and hospices, and liability coverage for special events such as trade shows, fairs and concerts.
  
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• “The Insurance Department’s action will make doing business easier for New York insurance brokers while still protecting insurance buyers,” said IIABNY Chair of the Board Lane Rubin. “The accounts that will go to the excess line market after expansion of the export list are the same ones that go there now. Expansion will free the broker from an administrative exercise that does not produce value for the client, and it will give the broker the time to do a better job for the client.”
  
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• Rubin, managing member of Excel Coverage Group LLC in Westbury, encouraged the department to make the change permanent. Under state rules, the public has until Aug. 1 to comment on the proposal. Based on public comment, the department may adopt, modify or reject the proposal after that date.