Suspicious Claims Rose 12% in Q3, Insurers Report

Questionable property/casualty insurance claims rose 12 percent in the third quarter over last year, according to the latest reports from insurance companies.

Through the third quarter of 2010, the National Insurance Crime Bureau received 70,295 referrals for questionable claims from its member insurance companies compared to 62,929 received in the same period of 2009—a 12 percent increase.

Questionable claims rose 14 percent for the first half of the year, according to NICB.

Questionable claims are those claims that NICB member insurance companies refer to NICB for closer review and investigation based on one or more indicators of possible fraud. A single claim may contain up to seven referral reasons. The report examines six referral reason categories of claims—property, casualty, commercial, workers’ compensation, vehicle and miscellaneous.

Vehicle QC analysis disclosed that there were more than1,700 more referrals for suspected auto glass fraud in the third quarter of 2010—an increase of 511 percent—when compared to the third quarter of 2009. Referrals for inflated towing and storage bills this quarter were also up by more than 200—a 103 percent rise—compared to the same quarter in 2009.

“Criminals who commit insurance fraud believe in equal opportunity — they will commit fraud anytime and anyplace they choose,” said NICB President and CEO Joe Wehrle. “Auto glass fraud and towing-related scams are occurring across the nation, but criminals also look for the path of least resistance, so increasingly they are choosing states like Florida and New York where ‘no-fault’ insurance provides a fertile environment for auto-related personal injury protection scams.”

The NICB is supported by more than 1,000 property and casualty insurance companies and self-insured organizations.

Source: NICB