Insurance Regulator Directive Aims To Stem High-Profile Attorney Fraud On Massachusetts Consumers

Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly reports:

• Insurance companies in Massachusetts are to notify consumers by mail when a settlement payment of $5,000 or more is sent to an attorney, according to a recent directive from the [Massachusetts] commissioner of insurance. Under the new guidelines, insurers are instructed to send consumers a written notice that refers to the amount of the check, the name and address of the party to which the check is mailed and a copy of the check — or, if the payment is made by electronic transfer, the amount and date of the transfer. The measure has been hotly debated since it was first proposed by the [Massachusetts] Clients' Security Board ["CSB"], which spent several years lobbying for the guidelines. The CSB argued that payee notifications would stem the infrequent but high-profile cases of attorney fraud. [...] Calling the measure "far from foolproof but better than nothing," [CSB Chairman Peter G.] DeGelleke predicted that, in the end, the guidelines "will make a difference. New York reports that the implementation of the rules there reduced losses and claims."

For more, see Insurers told to send payee notification letters to clients (Measure 'far from foolproof' but seen as an improvement).

For members of the public who have sustained a financial loss caused by the dishonest conduct of a Massachusetts attorney acting as an attorney or a fiduciary, see Massachusetts Clients' Security Board. Go here for links to summaries of cases they've heard involving clients' claims against Massachusetts attorneys.

For other states, see:

• Directory Of Lawyers' Funds For Client Protection (American Bar Association - January, 2008);
• Check the Client Protection Funds Maps (USA map) (Canadian map) or
• try this "Google" search.