Insurance fraud: What we learned last night
June 20th 2025
Last night, we learned how rare it is for insurers to face criminal prosecution — and how powerful it can be when they do. One single criminal case after Superstorm Sandy led to 144,000 claims reopened and $380 million paid out to survivors.
Watch the full webinar here:
https://youtu.be/_D2YhB9J2Co
What exactly is insurance fraud?
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) defines it this way:
"Insurance fraud occurs when an insurance company, agent, adjuster or consumer commits a deliberate deception in order to obtain an illegitimate gain."
For too long, prosecutions have focused almost entirely on consumers defrauding insurers. But as Doug and longtime prosecutor Dominic Dugo shared, fraud happens on both sides — and it’s time insurers are held accountable when they defraud policyholders.
Want to report your case? Submit to multiple places for maximum impact:
California DOI complaint hotline:
https://www.insurance.ca.gov/01-consumers/101-help/
APA fraud reporting (for potential criminal fraud cases):
https://apassociation.org/file-a-report/Consumer Watchdog complaint form:
https://consumerwatchdog.org/fire-complaint/The New York Times Insurance Survey (5 minutes):
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/05/21/us/la-fire-insurance-survey.html
The Times has created a landmark survey to document how insurers are treating L.A. survivors. Your anonymous answers will shine a light on which insurers are honoring contracts — and which are not. Take the survey and share it with survivor friends and networks.
Resources we covered:
APA Consumer Self-Defense Guides:
https://apassociation.org/resources/
The EFSN YouTube Series (check out insurance expert Francisco Vega’s session):
https://www.youtube.com/@efsurvivors
Last night, many of you asked general insurance questions — the kind our Discord community tackles every day. Inside, survivors and experts are sharing knowledge, strategies, and real-time support. To join 2300 fellow survivors and tap into the power of the collective brain, just click "Join the Discord" in the upper right corner of our new website:
https://www.efsurvivors.net/
And don’t miss the AI companion packed with custom prompts to help you maximize your claim, created by EFSN member Andrew King:
https://discordapp.com/channels/1327336733456470046/1340059255578951811/1383490632282017894
📢 L.A. fire survivors are already creating change.
For decades, insurers have abused disaster survivors. But now L.A. fire survivors are uniting — and we’re turning the tide toward accountability. Already, we’ve driven a formal investigation into State Farm.
Catch up and join our campaign here:
https://www.efsurvivors.net/hold-insurers-accountable-state-farm-lara
📅 Upcoming Events
Survivor Media Training — FREE on Zoom [Register here]
Wednesday, July 2 | 7-8 PM PT
Learn how to share your story with confidence, work with reporters, and advocate for all survivors.
6-Month Survivor Press Conference & Postcard Party [Register here]
Monday, July 7 | 9 AM – 12 PM | Altadena
It’s finally time to be together in person — to share strength, healing, and long-overdue hugs. I can’t wait to meet so many of you.
Register for both events here:
https://www.efsurvivors.net/events
