Insurance
The Insurance domain tests how the investigator's cause determination connects to coverage, subrogation, and fraud investigation. It is not a coverage-law exam, but you must know why the cause finding matters commercially as well as technically.
Policy structure
A policy has declarations, an insuring agreement, conditions, and exclusions. Named-peril policies cover listed perils; open-peril ("all risk") policies cover everything not excluded. Common exclusions include intentional acts, vacancy or unoccupancy, and ordinance-or-law costs. A "friendly" fire - one burning within its intended container, such as a log in a fireplace - is generally not covered, while a hostile fire is.
Conditions the insured must meet
Prompt notice, protection of the property from further damage, a sworn proof of loss, cooperation, and submission to examination under oath. Failure to satisfy a condition can bar a claim independently of the cause determination.
Subrogation and SIU
Subrogation lets the insurer stand in the insured's shoes against a third party; it requires prompt notice to potentially liable parties and preservation of the involved item. Special investigation unit referrals follow indicators such as recent coverage increases, financial distress, multiple prior claims, or removal of valuables before the fire - but indicators are not proof, and the cause finding must rest on scene evidence.
Worked example
A fire traced to a defective appliance. The insurer pays the insured, photographs and preserves the appliance, notifies the manufacturer, and pursues subrogation. Reasoning: the appliance must be retained and access provided, or the subrogation claim fails for spoliation. If instead the investigator suspects the insured set the fire, the matter shifts to the intentional-act exclusion and possible fraud, and the same physical evidence must be preserved for both tracks.
Traps that cost marks
Equating cause with fault and announcing "arson" as though it were a coverage decision; allowing evidence to be discarded before subrogation notice; ignoring policy conditions because the cause seems clear; assuming an open-peril policy covers every loss.