Cigar Fire - Insurance Fraud
A lawyer in Charlotte, NC purchased a box of very rare and expensive cigars, then insured them against fire among other things. Within a month, having smoked his entire stockpile of these great cigars and without yet having made even his first premium payment on the policy, the lawyer filed a claim with the insurance company.
In his claim, the lawyer stated the cigars were lost “in a series of small fires.” The insurance company refused to pay, citing the obvious reason: that the man had consumed the cigars in the normal fashion. The lawyer sued….and won! In delivering the ruling the judge agreed with the insurance company that the claim was frivolous. The judge stated nevertheless, that the lawyer held a policy from the company in which it had warranted that the cigars were insurable and also guaranteed that it would insure them against fire, without defining what is considered to be “unacceptable fire,” and was obligated to pay the claim. Rather than endure lengthy and costly appeal process, the insurance company accepted the ruling and paid $15,000.00 to the lawyer for his loss of the rare cigars lost in the “fires.”
But… After the lawyer cashed the check, the insurance company had him arrested on 24 counts of ARSON! With his own insurance claim and testimony from the previous case used against him, the lawyer was convicted of intentionally burning his insured property and was sentenced to 24 months in jail and a $24,000.00 fine.
Sorry, but this one is a ten year old urban legend.
http://www.snopes.com/crime/clever/cigarson.asp
Comment by J Webb — September 25, 2006 @ 12:39 pm
Makes sense that it is not true. I removed the “This is a True Story” banner from across the top. Always a good indication that it is a hoax.
Thanks
Comment by GaryP — September 25, 2006 @ 1:57 pm
Is this true? Can this be possible? An insurance for the cigarette against the fire… weird..LOLs
Comment by Karen — March 12, 2008 @ 10:40 pm
I have heard this in several different versions. Some have said that the guy was an insurance adjuster, some that he was a politician, etc.
I doubt anyone would try to make such a claim. If they did, and they were a lawyer, surely they would have thought of the possibility of fraud or arson charges being brought against them.
A law license and your career would be a large trade off for such a small amount of money.
Texas Insurance Claim Help
Comment by Texas Public Insurance Adjuster — March 14, 2008 @ 7:43 am
Haha this is very funny i must contact my insurance company because my cigarettes are on fire.
Thanks for the story
Comment by Janni — March 19, 2008 @ 7:24 am