| ON GUARD û Fraud Spotter #30 - Insurance | | | | lane, barely avoiding a collision. Eventually |
| Fraud - Pt. 1 | | | | thetruck strikes the car. But this isn't some |
| | | | reckless or intoxicateddriver. This is a |
| | | | staged auto accident, designed to obtain |
| | | | insurancemoney. It's a carefully planned, |
| (R) 2004 Tiare Publications Group | | | | down and dirty form of insurancefraud. |
| | | | |
| 723words | | | | Investigators report that there are often |
| | | | three tiers to suchorganized crime rings. The |
| Take a close look at the next bill you | | | | top tier is composed of |
| receive from your insurancecompany. How much | | | | unscrupulousprofessionals such as physicians |
| is protection of self, home, and property | | | | or attorneys, who are more thanwilling to |
| costingyou? Perhaps more than you planned and | | | | diagnose injuries, even if they don't exist, |
| maybe more than you need orcan afford. | | | | or filefraudulent claims. |
| Experts say that the steadily escalating | | | | |
| numbers on yourpremiums are primarily caused | | | | The second level is made up of "cappers" - |
| by widespread and growing insurancefraud, | | | | just like the shills ofstreet con fame - who |
| which costs the industry tens of billions of | | | | do the grunt work of finding expendable |
| dollars eachyear. | | | | carsand doling out the resulting claims to |
| | | | the top tier pros. The lasttier includes the |
| Fighting fraud within the system is extremely | | | | people hired to drive the cars and put their |
| difficult, simplybecause it so often goes | | | | liveson the line in exchange for money. The |
| undetected or unreported. Hard fraud, | | | | con itself is simple, ifpotentially deadly. |
| whichare attempts to secure payments through | | | | |
| staged or non-existentaccidents, injuries, | | | | The entire cover story is concocted and |
| theft and arson, are being committed | | | | arranged before anyone takesto the streets. |
| byunscrupulous professionals within the ranks | | | | Bottom tier participants then drive out in |
| of physicians andattorneys. These people are | | | | search ofa suitable, well-insured target. |
| experts at manipulating paperwork, whichends | | | | Once a good target has been singledout, the |
| up bamboozling insurance companies into | | | | squat car goes to work, pulling in front of |
| paying out for falseclaims. | | | | the target fora little game of cat and mouse. |
| | | | The goal is to get the targetvehicle to |
| Fraud against the industry is nearly equaled | | | | impact the squat car. And it does, often |
| by fraud committed bythe insurance providers | | | | spectacularly. |
| themselves. Huckstering agents often | | | | |
| defraudtheir clients, convincing them to buy | | | | Once the collision has taken place, victims |
| policies they don't need,delaying payments or | | | | howl about injuries andare treated for the |
| refusing to pay claims. The veryword | | | | most dubious kind: whiplash, sprains and |
| "insurance" implies a permanent and lasting | | | | otherproblems that defy easy diagnostic |
| trust. When we signup for health, life or | | | | confirmation. Insurance claimsare then filed, |
| automobile insurance we are placing our | | | | with the largest amount of cash ending up in |
| trustin the company we have retained, | | | | thepockets of the lawyers and doctors. The |
| counting on them being there whenwe need | | | | dishonest souls actuallyinvolved in the |
| them. If and when that hour comes we may be | | | | staged accident end up with a few thousand |
| devastated tolearn that our insurance agent | | | | dollarsand those who set the whole thing up |
| is nothing more than a shyster andthe company | | | | also walk away with asubstantial share of the |
| he works for won't back us up or help us out. | | | | cash. There are always people willing to doa |
| | | | little dangerous driving in exchange for |
| The Coalition Against Insurance Fraud is | | | | money. To insurancecompanies it means billion |
| lobbying for legislativeand industry reform | | | | dollar losses each year. |
| to help curb the problem, but education | | | | |
| andawareness are the only real ways to combat | | | | Cousins of these accident rings are |
| this type of fraud. | | | | "floppers" and "divers;"scammers who pretend |
| | | | to be hit by automobiles in order to |
| Phony Accident Rings | | | | collectinsurance. These scams work best when |
| | | | the vehicle is turning acorner or moving away |
| Staged auto accidents, also known as | | | | from a stop sign. The con artist simply |
| swoop-and-squats or zoom-and-squats, are | | | | stepsoff the curb and bounces off the fender |
| becoming more commonplace. Though the methods | | | | or door. Part actor and partstuntman, the con |
| vary, theoutcome is the same. A battered | | | | artist always gives a great performance and |
| vehicle swerves in and out of alarge truck's | | | | theinsurance company usually pays off. |