You're dead wrong, if you think that life insurance isn't worth anything until you're dead.
In his latest novel, Richard Dooling takes readers on a lopsided journey into the workings of the insurance industry, in particular the viatical aspect of the business.
Viatical insurance is the term for the transaction when the terminally ill sell life insurance policies at a discount to third party buyers who collect when the insured party dies. It's a practical way to secure cash at a critical time in their lives when medical insurance runs out, along with family income. The terminally ill party desperately needs cash just to keep going until the man with the scythe comes along. Viatical insurance transactions are popular with AIDS and cancer patients.
As Dooling makes clear, the sale and purchase of such policies is perfectly legal.
But of course his novel is not about the legal side of the business.
Carver Hartnett is an insurance fraud investigator. He's young, single and leads a spirited life and prides himself on being honest and smart. He's a hard worker.
Then one night a fellow investigator, also youthful, is found dead, slumped over his computer, which is turned on to Internet soft porn.
The death is suspicious and appears even more so when it turns out that the deceased had several insurance policies that had been sold to a shady company known as Heartland Viatical. The situation worsens when Hartnett learns that he is among the beneficiaries listed on these policies, along with a comely co-worker, Miranda, whom Hartnett lusts after.
Hartnett digs into the mystery, along with a police detective, a trio of FBI officers, his own boss, and some characters from Heartland Viatical.
Dooling entertains the reader with colorful examples of typical insurance fraud, everything from small town slip and fall accidents to something he calls swoop and squats. They range from banana peel falls to the tale of the 20 dead Nigerians, all with identical names with wives with the same names and a lawyer, also bearing the same name.
Through Hartnett's wry look at the world and himself, Dooling spins an irreverent tale about the insurance industry and the people who expect insurance to solve all their problems today and in the hereafter. There's even a humorous account of a funeral and an embalmed body.
As the plot winds down, Dooling adds one final unexpected twist to the plot.
Dooling was born in Omaha, Nebraska, the setting for this novel. He earned a law degree at St. Louis University and is on the staff of the Bryan Cave law firm in St. Louis, where he specializes in developing Web-based legal products. His commute from Omaha to St. Louis is online.
His first novel, "Critical Care," was made into a movie directed by Sidney Lumet. He is also the author of two other novels, "White Man's Grave" and "Brain Storm," and has written numerous works of nonfiction. Dooling is now working on a four-part series with Stephen King, to be aired on ABC next fall.
