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This article, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, discusses the American College of Physicians' (ACP) guidance statement on screening for colorectal cancer (CRC) in asymptomatic average-risk adults. The article highlights that the ACP guidance statement is subject to interpretation and modification by knowledgeable clinicians and specialty consultants. It also raises concerns about the misappropriation of clinical guidelines by the insurance industry, which may lead to the denial of services for individual patients. The article emphasizes the importance of ensuring that clinical guidelines are regularly updated to reflect new medical knowledge and to prioritize patient care. [Extracted from the article]

Efficient, fast, and accurate crop lodging monitoring is urgent for farmers, agronomists, insurance loss adjusters, and policymakers. This study aims to explore the potential of Chinese GF-1 PMS high-spatial-resolution images for corn lodging monitoring and to find a robust and efficient way to identify corn lodging accurately and efficiently. Three groups of image features and five machine-learning approaches are used for classifying non-lodged, moderately lodged, and severely lodged areas. Our results reveal that (1) the combination of spectral bands, optimized vegetation indexes, and texture features classify corn lodging with an overall accuracy of 93.81% and a Kappa coefficient of 0.91. (2) The random forest is an efficient, robust, and easy classifier to identify corn lodging with the F1-score of 0.95, 0.92, and 0.95 for non-lodged, moderately lodged, and severely lodged areas, respectively. (3) The GF-1 PMS image has great potential for identifying corn lodging on a regional scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Car crashes, known also as vehicle collisions, are recurrent events that occur every day. As long as vehicles exist, vehicle collisions will, unfortunately, continue to occur. When a car crash occurs, it is important to investigate and determine the actors' responsibilities. The police in charge of that task, as well as claims adjusters, usually process manually by going to the crash spot, collecting data on the field, drafting the crash, and assessing responsibilities based on road rules. This later task of assessing responsibilities usually takes time and requires enough knowledge of road rules. With the aim to support the police and claims adjusters and simplify the process of responsibility determination, we built a system that can automatically assess actors' responsibilities within a crossroad crash. The system is mainly based on image detection and uses a rule-based knowledge system to assess responsibilities within driving recorders' videos. It uses the crash video recorded by one of the involved vehicles' driving recorders as the input data source and outputs the evaluation of each actor's responsibility within the crash. The rule-based knowledge system was implemented to make the reasoning about responsibility assessment clear and allow users to easily understand the reasons for the results. The system consists of three modules: (a) a crash time detection module, (b) a traffic sign detection module, and (c) a responsibility assessment module. To detect a crash within a video, we discovered that the simple application of existing vehicle detection models would result in wrong detections with many false positives. To solve the issue, we made our proposed model take into account only the collided vehicle, its shape, and its position within the video. Moreover, with the biggest challenge being finding data to train the system's detection models, we built our own dataset from scratch with more than 1500 images of head-on car crashes within the context of crossroad accidents taken by the driving recorder of one of the vehicles involved in the crash. The experiment's results show how the system performs in (1) detecting the crash time, (2) detecting traffic signs, and (3) assessing each party's responsibility. The system performs well when light conditions and the visibility of collided objects are good and traffic lights' view distances are close. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

90 Creating "a separate duty from the adjuster to the insured would thrust the adjuster into what could be an irreconcilable conflict between such duty and the adjuster's contractual duty to follow the instructions of its client, the insurer."91 The insurer's own duty of good faith is nondelegable, and the insurer is liable for an adjuster's conduct, thus reducing or eliminating any basis to impose a separate duty on the adjuster personally.92 From "a policy standpoint it makes little sense to hold that the adjuster has an independent duty when the insurer itself is subject to liability for the adjuster's mishandling of claims in actions alleging breach of contract and bad faith." If the adjuster is local, joining the adjuster could prevent the insurer from removing a bad faith lawsuit filed in state court to federal court. Early Cases Relevant to Personal Liability of Insurance Company Representatives As recognition of the tort of bad faith in multiple insurance contexts spread across the country from the 1950s to the early 1990s, courts confronted a wave of attempts to sue adjusters or other insurance company representatives directly. Generally, insurance adjusters, as agents and employees of the insurer, do not owe the insured any independent duty that could cause the adjuster to be personally liable to the insured for bad faith"). [Extracted from the article]

Crop lodging - the bending of crop stems from their upright position or the failure of root-soil anchorage systems - is a major yield-reducing factor in wheat and causes deterioration of grain quality. The severity of lodging can be measured by a lodging score (LS)- an index calculated from the crop angle of inclination (CAI) and crop lodged area (LA). LS is difficult and time consuming to measure manually meaning that information on lodging occurrence and severity is limited and sparse. Remote sensing-based estimates of LS can provide more timely, synoptic and reliable information on crop lodging across vast areas. This information could improve estimates of crop yield losses, inform insurance loss adjusters and influence management decisions for subsequent seasons. This research - conducted in the 600 ha wheat sown area in the Bonifiche Ferraresi farm, located in Jolanda di Savoia, Ferrara, Italy - evaluated the performance of RADARSAT-2 and Sentinel-1 data to discriminate and classify lodging severity based on field measured LS. We measured temporal crop status characteristics related to lodging (e.g. lodged area, CAI, crop height) and collected relevant meteorological data (wind speed and rainfall) throughout May-June 2018. These field measurements were used to distinguish healthy (He) wheat from lodged wheat with different degrees of lodging severity (moderate, severe and very severe). We acquired multi-incidence angle (FQ8-27° and FQ21-41°) RADARSAT-2 and Sentinel-1 (40°) images and derived multiple metrics from them to discriminate and classify lodging severity. As a part of our data exploration, we performed a correlation analysis between the image-based metrics and LS. Next, a multi-temporal discriminant analysis approach, including a partial least squares (PLS-DA) method, was developed to classify lodging severities. We used the area under the curve-receiver operating characteristics (AUC-ROC) and confusion matrices to evaluate the accuracy of the PLS-DA classification models. Results show that (1) volume scattering components were highly correlated with LS at low incidence angles while double and surface scattering was more prevalent at high incidence angles; (2) lodging severity was best classified using low incidence angle R-FQ8 data (overall accuracy 72%) and (3) the Sentinel-1 data-based classification model was able to correctly identify 60% of the lodging severity cases in the study site. The results from this first study on classifying lodging severity using satellite-based SAR platforms suggests that SAR-based metrics can capture a substantial proportion of the observed variation in lodging severity, which is important in the context of operational crop lodging assessment in particular, and sustainable agriculture in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Althoughthe Cytosol court ultimately foundno coverage, many read the case tomean that an insurer should stepup and appoint defense counsel inresponse to pre-suit demand letters(at least in Massachusetts). * In some cases, the insurermay think that the demandletter is simply a bluff and nocovered suit will result if theclaimant simply is left alone. Despite the general lack of pre-suitduties and obligations imposedon insurers, there are some cases,like Cytosol, where courts havedeparted from the rule and haverequired insurers to step up andassume responsibility for pre-suitdemands prior to commencementof a suit. The cases fall into several broadcategories: cases treating pre-suitdemands as sufficiently coercive toqualify as suits, cases treating pre-suitdemands as a form of ADR,and cases treating pre-suit demandsas costs recoverable in anticipationof litigation. [Extracted from the article]

Rapid and quantitative assessment of crop lodging is important for understanding the causes of the phenomena, improving crop management, making better production and supporting loss estimates in general. Accurate information on the location and timing of crop lodging is valuable for farmers, agronomists, insurance loss adjusters, and policymakers. Lodging studies can be performed to assess the impact of lodging events or to model the risk of occurrence, both of which rely on information that can be acquired by field observations, from meteorological data and from remote sensing (RS). While studies applying RS data to assess crop lodging dates back three decades, there has been no comprehensive review of the status, potential, current approaches, and challenges in this domain. In this position paper, we review the trends in field/lab-based and RS-based studies for crop lodging assessment and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of current approaches. Theoretical background on crop lodging is presented, and the scope of RS in assessing plant characteristics associated with lodging is reviewed and discussed. The review focuses on RS-based studies, grouping them according to the platform deployed (i.e., ground-based, airborne and spaceborne), with an emphasis on analyzing the pros and cons of the technology. Finally, the challenges, research gaps, perspectives for future research, and an outlook on new sensors and platforms are presented to provide state-of-the-art and future scenarios of RS in lodging assessment. Our review reveals that the use of RS techniques in crop lodging assessment is still in an experimental stage. However, there is increasing interest within the RS scientific community (based on the increased rate of publications over time) to investigate its use for crop lodging detection and risk mapping. The existing satellite-based lodging assessment studies are very few, and the operational application of the current approaches over large spatial extents seems to be the biggest challenge. We identify opportunities for future studies that can develop quantitative models for estimating lodging severity and mapping lodging risk using RS data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the relationships between independent insurance adjusters and insured individuals in America, and it mentions negligence claims, legal liability, and the reasons why the authors believe that insurance adjusters do not owe independent duties of care to insurance policyholders. Administrative remedies and federal jurisdiction in the U.S. are mentioned, along with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' Model Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act.

The article focuses on issues related to a Reservation of Rights Letter (ROR). It is noted that the insurer's investigation of the tendered claim is informed in the ROR, which is written notice to an insured of its insurer's coverage position. It is mentioned that an ROR must clearly communicate to the insured the insurer's position to be effective.

This article explores two questions. First, in adjudicating claims under the Human Rights Act 1998 ( HRA), should the court defer to the executive or legislature on the ground that the latter two institutions possess superior expertise or information-gathering powers, when such expertise or powers fail to generate persuasive first-order reasons for the court? This article argues that rationality requires courts to defer on these second-order grounds of institutional capacity in situations of judicial uncertainty. Secondly, this article examines an underexplored question in the current literature: when is it justified for courts to consider the government as possessing second-order grounds of institutional capacity that warrant deference? It is argued that rational, impartial and open adjudication in the post- HRA era requires the government to prove its claims of superior institutional capacity, and courts to openly scrutinise such claims by considering a number of factors, including, crucially, the government institution's track record of expertise and credibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the malpractice coverage decisions of lawyers in the U.S., in which the coverage are denied due to failure to report claims. It mentions that these decisions would serve as a reminder to recognize failures better when applying for professional liability coverage. It states that attorneys should be honest when adjusting malpractice policies.

The article discusses insurance policy law, examining the question of whether provisions in polices called examination under oath (EUO) provisions apply to public or independent adjusters that are retained by an insured. Public adjusters are insurance claims adjusters who are advocates for, and paid by, a policyholder for the purpose of appraising and negotiating an insurance claim.

Hailstorms usually result in total crop loss. After a hailstorm, the affected field is inspected by an insurance claims adjuster to assess yield loss. Assessment accuracy depends largely on in situ detection of homogeneous damage sectors within the field, using visual techniques. This paper presents an algorithm for the automatic detection of homogeneous hail damage through the application of unsupervised machine learning techniques to vegetation indices calculated from remote sensing data. Five microwave and five spectral indices were evaluated before and after a hailstorm in zones with different degrees of damage. Dual Polarization SAR Vegetation Index and Normalized Pigment Chlorophyll Ratio Index were the most sensitive to hail-induced changes. The time series and rates of change of these indices were used as input variables in the K-means method for clustering pixels into homogeneous damage zones. Validation of the algorithm with data from 91 soybean, wheat, and corn plots showed that in 87.01% of cases there was significant evidence of differences in average damage between zones determined by the algorithm within the plot. Thus, the algorithm presented in this paper allowed efficient detection of homogeneous hail damage zones, which is expected to improve accuracy and transparency in the characterization of hailstorm events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, around 80% of disaster-related losses are uninsured. There are many reasons for this market failure: from the insurers' point of view these include high risk or small scale, absence of reliable risk data, and volatility in the event costs; from the at-risk population these include high prices, a misperception of the true risk, an expectation of government aid after disasters, and exclusion from financial services. We propose that a public-private partnership can resolve this. The public sector sets a framework to reduce the physical risks, provides cover for high-risk segments and regulates the market for other risks; the private sector provides consultancy and administrative services for all sectors and offers coverage for lower-risk segments. Competition reduces administrative costs and fraud. Cost-based pricing is an effective risk-management tool, and international (re)insurers can transfer knowledge and spread risks globally. A regional or global risk pool can reduce premium rates substantially by lowering the volatility of losses. Nevertheless the fundamental building block for catastrophe insurance is at the national level, since risks must be consistently estimated and administered locally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on a period of observation in an insurance defense law firm and a series of interviews with insurance defense lawyers in other firms, this paper presents an analysis of the work and relationships involved in insurance defense practice. The central argument of the paper is the insurance defense practice is viewed as a commodity by many, perhaps most, insurance companies. The result is to drive down the price for such services and to impose a variety of demands on lawyers providing insurance defense services that affect the work that the lawyers do. Specific topics discussed include fees and fee arrangements, working relationships between lawyers and insurance adjusters, marketing and client retention, and interactions between insurance defense lawyers and lawyers representing other insurers or plaintiffs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This article explores the explicative capabilities of neural network classifiers with automatic relevance determination weight regularization, and reports the findings from applying these networks for personal injury protection automobile insurance claim fraud detection. The automatic relevance determination objective function scheme provides us with a way to determine which inputs are most informative to the trained neural network model. An implementation of MacKay''s, (1992a,b) evidence framework approach to Bayesian learning is proposed as a practical way of training such networks. The empirical evaluation is based on a data set of closed claims from accidents that occurred in Massachusetts, USA during 1993. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Explores settings involving the interplay between lawyer conduct standards and third-party adjusting. Analysis of the need of courts and administrative agencies to have some voice in determining how adjusters act and in whether insurance adjusters should abide by lawyer conduct standards; Discussion on pre-lawsuit settlement talks; Application of professional legal services standards.

Presents a study on the use of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine practice guidelines by managers and insurance adjusters in the United States. Assessment on the rate of use; Information on the attitudes, beliefs and utilization of those guidelines; Methodology of the study; Results and discussion; Conclusion.

To complement and augment the present methods used for information requirements analysis, the application of cognitive mapping is introduced. The proposed technique, which involves the recognition of cause and effect relationships, appears to provide three benefits. It aids in the identification of irrelevant data. It can be used to evaluate the factors that affect a given class of decisions. And, most importantly, it enhances the overall understanding of a decision maker's environment, particularly when it is ill-structured. These observations are supported by a real world application of the approach to the evaluation of the performance of insurance claim representatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]