Insurance Fraud
While you and your insurer may disagree about a number of issues; when it comes to fraud; you are both victims. In common terms, insurance fraud is lying to or deceiving an insurer in order to make money or to become insured. Some common fraud schemes include:
As a consumer, fraud should concern you since the cost is passed directly on to you in the form of higher insurance rates. You can play an important role in reducing fraud. Fighting Auto Insurance Fraud Persons attempting to commit insurance fraud often do so by deceiving innocent drivers during actual accidents or by involving innocent drivers in "staged" accidents. Do the following in order to minimize this risk:
Fighting Homeowners Insurance Fraud It is far more difficult to involve an innocent party in homeowner fraud. However, a homeowner can help himself and help deter fraudulent claims by properly maintaining their home, and by removing or repairing items that could present trip hazards to outside parties. Also, if someone is hurt in your home, be certain that you get full information and be sure that an injured person gets any needed treatment. Carefully document any incident, including all impressions about likely injury. Have a healthy skepticism over any information on medical bills or claims. Report suspicious actions such as a friend who asks you to store valuable property and you then find that they reported to his insurer that the property was stolen. Think of insurance fraud as money out of your pocket-because it is. According to the US Chamber of Commerce, fraud adds 25% to property and casualty insurance rates. If you are involved in an accident and you are suspicious that fraud may be involved, report it to the authorities and your insurer. Another helpful source for fraud information is the National Insurance Crime Bureau at 1-800-TEL-NICB (at the time of this writing, their Website was located at www.nicb.org). Revised 09/05 COPYRIGHT: Insurance Publishing Plus, Inc. 1996, 2000, 2005 All rights reserved. Production or distribution, whether in whole or in part, in any form of media or language; and no matter what country, state or territory, is expressly forbidden without written consent of Insurance Publishing Plus, Inc. |