Tom Shell Plumbing Inc., a New Port Richey, Florida-based plumbing company providing services ranging from plumbing repair to installation, announced today that owner and operator Tom Shell will speak at the 2023 Florida Insurance Fraud Education Committee's annual conference in Orlando on July 14.

Shell has served as a master plumber in the New Port Richey area since 1997 and has worked as an expert insurance fraud investigator researching plumbing-related claims since 2018. He will lend his expertise to the "Fighting Fraud in Late Reported Homeowners' Claims" panel along with experts from the legal and construction fields. The convention runs July 12-14 at the Renaissance Orlando Hotel.

"It's an honor to be included in this panel with other experts in the insurance fraud and claims fields," Shell said. "Investigating claims and testifying in court has given me the experience necessary to address the best practices necessary to determine the origin and cause of various plumbing claims. I look forward to hearing from the other experts on the panel and addressing strategies that will help the audience as they pursue litigation in these cases."

Shell began investigating insurance claims related to the plumbing industry after receiving a request from a law firm that he lend his expertise in the field to help them research potential fraud in homeowner insurance claims. He is now considered the primary expert plumbing witness in Florida.

Shell said he didn't always want to be a plumber but was working for his father at Tom Shell Plumbing in the mid-1990s while attending school to become a doctor. In an effort to earn more money, Shell took time off school and sat for his master plumber's certification the day he had served as an apprentice plumber long enough to take the exam – five years – and passed, making him the youngest master plumber in the state at the age of 23 years old. He stayed on at the company and eventually took over for his father in 2004.

"Now, in addition to working as a master plumber, it's my job to investigate claims and testify in court," he said. "I can use my experience investigating claims to improve my own plumbing business. That ensures our customers get the best plumbing services available in the area."

In addition to court and insurance investigations panels, Shell and his company have been featured on ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" and on the podcast Potty Talk.