The insured claimed he had a plumbing leak in his bathroom that required repair. He filed an Additional Living Expense (ALE) claim, stating that he only had one full bathroom with a tub and shower; therefore, he argued, he would need to rent a recreational vehicle in order to bathe while repair work was being conducted.
The loss was confirmed, and the insured submitted an invoice for a four-month rental period for a recreational vehicle. The document was identified as a work order, not an invoice, and there was no date or invoice number on it. The cost of the rental was listed as $17,400.
The file was referred to SIU to verify the rental of the recreational vehicle and the payments made by insured.
The investigation included attempting contact with the company identified as providing the recreational vehicle, with no results. When questioned further, the insured declined to provide any additional detail with respect to his reported rental of the vehicle, and advised that he was withdrawing his claim for ALE.
The issue on this claim involved a questionable document that appeared to be an attempt to submit an incomplete work order as an invoice. Per the website for the RV dealership in question, they appeared to sell vehicles but there was no indication that they offered rental.
The examiner closed the ALE portion of the claim without settlement.
As a result of the quick identification of the suspect nature of the claim, we were able to save the carrier approximately $17,400.