Crime Stoppers USA and NICB Partner to Fight Insurance Crime

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Aug 03, 2010, 09:00 ET

DES PLAINES, Ill., Aug. 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Crime Stoppers USA and the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) today announced an agreement to join forces in efforts to increase awareness of insurance fraud and assist law enforcement in putting insurance criminals behind bars.

The two organizations will focus on working with the media in the more than 300 locations across the country that Crime Stoppers serves to alert the public to insurance fraud schemes and seek tips about crimes like vehicle theft, cargo theft, staged accidents, arsons, roofing scams, slip and falls, workers' compensation and medical fraud.

"The NICB has been actively fighting vehicle theft and insurance fraud for nearly 100 years," said Joe Wehrle, NICB president and chief executive officer. "We know and respect the Crime Stoppers organization and it makes perfect sense for us to combine forces to maximize our efforts to make the public more aware of this type of crime.

"We think the Crime Stoppers Tips and Rewards Program will be enhanced by the information that we can provide to the public on insurance fraud and as tips come in, we are prepared to have our agents and our partners in the insurance industry and law enforcement actively pursue them. Sometimes a seemingly unimportant tip can be the key that leads to the breakup of a major criminal ring."

Crime Stoppers, which began in 1976, is a successful non-profit community-based organization which combines the cooperative efforts of the community, the media, and law enforcement in the fight against crime. Guaranteeing anonymity and a cash reward, Crime Stoppers encourages the public to call with information that leads to the arrest of persons committing crimes.

About the National Insurance Crime Bureau: headquartered in Des Plaines, Ill., the NICB is the nation's leading not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to preventing, detecting and defeating insurance fraud and vehicle theft through information analysis, investigations, training, legislative advocacy and public awareness. The NICB is supported by nearly 1,100 property and casualty insurance companies and self-insured organizations. NICB member companies wrote over $319 billion in insurance premiums in 2009, or more than 78 percent of the nation's property/casualty insurance. That includes more than 93 percent ($151 billion) of the nation's personal auto insurance. To learn more visit www.nicb.org.