What role do insurance company investigators play in false arson cases?
A. Insurance company investigators play a key role in a high percentage of bogus arson cases. I have had a number of cases in which state fire investigators ruled a fire accidental only to change the finding to arson following a visit by an insurance investigator. The prosecution usually denies having been influenced by the insurance company. In some states, the state fire marshals NEVER dig out and investigate a serious fire, even if it results in one or more deaths. They simply wait for the insurance company to do the job and base their decision on whether to prosecute on what the insurance investigators tell them. This allows the state to run their entire arson program with only a handful of marshals.
