Rick L. Hammond

Rick Hammond is an Equity Shareholder with the law firm of Johnson & Bell, Ltd., and he co-chairs the firm’s Insurance group. He concentrates his practice on matters relating to property insurance coverage, arson and fraud and bad faith litigation.

He’s the President of the Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel, on the Board of Directors of the Insurance School of Chicago, and a columnist for the International Association of Special Investigative Units’ publication, "SIU Awareness." Mr. Hammond also serves as General Counsel for the Insurance Committee for Arson Control (ICAC), and he has been widely published in numerous journals and magazines. He’s a frequent presenter at various insurance industry and bar association conferences.

Mr. Hammond was recently selected by The Lexis Nexis Insurance Law Center to receive its Honorable Mention "Insurance Lawyer of the Year Award." He was recognized by Lexis Nexis and his peers as "one of the attorneys who did the most in 2008 to effectively advance insurer positions and improve insurance law from the perspective of insurers."

Mr. Hammond is a member of the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel, a former Vice-Chair of the Property Insurance Law Committee of the American Bar Association, a former Chair of the Insurance Law Section Council for the Illinois State Bar Association, and he formerly served as General Counsel for the International Association of Arson Investigator’s Foundation. Mr. Hammond currently serves on the Board of Trustees of his alma mater, Hales Franciscan High School, and he was recently inducted into his high school’s Hall of Fame.

For more information on Mr. Hammond, please click here.

Rick Hammond, Honorable Mention Award

Johnson & Bell, Ltd. would like to congratulate Rick Hammond, shareholder and co-chair of the insurance group for his honorable mention recognition from The Insurance Law Center (a division of the LexisNexis communities). For his relentless efforts in the battle against insurance fraud, and the noteworthy impact on the insurance center’s online community resulting from the watershed number of comments received on his behalf, the board extended an honorable mention in this Insurer Attorney category to Rick Hammond.

Since launching its first annual Insurance Person of the Year Award in early 2009, the ILC has experienced an unprecedented amount of activity, including the receipt of almost 50 nominations from professionals throughout the insurance industry. The community came out in force to share their views on the list of nominated finalists and posted in excess of 100 comments in a 3-day period. We heard from all segments of the industry—attorneys, regulators, lawmakers, academics, underwriters and claims professionals, brokers and agents, insurers and policyholders, colleagues and clients.

Your participation truly reflects the voice of a growing community and has contributed a great deal to the Board’s effort to set an industry-wide standard of professionalism with the launch of this annual award event. The Board thanks everyone for their nominations and comments and encourages former and new community members to visit the Insurance Law Center throughout 2009 for commentary, podcasts and other contributions from our selected Persons of the Year.

Recent Publications

Mr. Hammond’s authored publications include Avoiding the Pitfalls of Insurance Fraud Investigation and Litigation (Copyright, 1998), State Insurance Regulation (Assistant Editor, Published by the American Institute for Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters, Copyright, 1995), and Avoiding the Legal Pitfalls of Insurance Fraud Claims Handling (Copyright, 1994).

He also has had numerous featured columns in:

The IDC Quarterly –“Property Insurance” (Published by the Illinois Association of Defense Counsel) "Comparative Bad Faith (Coming Soon to a Courthouse Near You)" Fourth Quarter, 1997.
The SIU Awareness – “Law Update” (Published by the International Association of Special Investigation Units) "Son with Insured's Power of Attorney" December 1999.
Insured’s Failure to Disclose His Ownership of Home in Bankruptcy Petition Causes Estoppel of His Right to Obtain Coverage for Fire Loss.
Opinion of Fire Origin and Cause Expert Stricken “Fire Labeled as ‘Suspicious’ is Inconsistent with NFPA 921 Principles”.
Insurance Fraud “Ring” Investigation: Ripe Area for Defamation Suits
State Supreme Court Rules that Insurer is Not Required to Prove “Motive” in an “Intentional Acts” (Arson) Coverage Defense
Is There A Statute of Limitations on Bad Faith? “Or Does the Policy of Insurance Control?”; Rescission Based Upon Fraud in the Application of Insurance: Not Appropriate if Injured Third-Party Exists
Insured Admits Fraud in the Presentment of His Claim: Insurer Still Owes Duty to Third-Party
Payment of Claim Doesn’t Equate to Waiver of a Fraud Defense: “Rights Were Properly Reserved".
And Target Arson: Update – “Law Update” (Published by the Insurance Committed for Arson Control) "A Procedural Overview of the Appraisal Process in First-Party Property Policies."

Featured articles by Mr. Hammond have been published in Professional Agent, Fire and Arson Investigator, and the Society of Professional Insurance Investigators.

Recent Speeches

American Bar Association, "Earth, Wind, Fire and Water: Cutting Edge Issues in Property Insurance Claims Following a Natural or Man-Made Disaster" St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, April 2001.
National Insurance Crime Bureau Advanced Academy “Examinations Under Oath” Las Vegas, Sacramento, Atlanta 2001.
Insurance Committee for Arson Control 11th Annual National Arson Investigation Training Seminar, Indianapolis, Indiana 1999.
State Farm Insurance Companies’ Programs, Speaker at West Central's Fall Special Investigation Unit Meeting, Battendorf, Iowa 1999.
The American Bar Association – National Institute, "Ethical Dilemmas of Representing a Suspected and/or Confirmed Liar" Orlando, Florida 1995.

His local seminar presentations include several for the Illinois State Bar Association Programs.