Arson is devilishly hard to prove.
What's worse, in insurers' efforts to stop arson, they may sometimes cast the net too wide, and end up snaring innocent claimants whose claims should be paid. A recent case, decided in February 1998 in Arkansas, shows how five appellate court judges had strongly differing opinions about whether a particular set of facts indeed constituted arson by the insured. Everyone knows that it is foul, dirty, nasty, and downright deadly to intentionally set a home or building on fire. Arson is a crime, usually a felony. If done by mail or phone, the crime of mail fraud or wire fraud also may be added to the burgeoning list of crimes that the claimant has committed.