NICB: Questionable Claims in the United States

Referrals Rise 27 Percent Since 2010, Most from California

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May 16, 2013, 06:00 ET

DES PLAINES, Ill., May 16, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In its annual look at questionable claims (QC) in the United States, the analysis released today by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) reports that in the three-year period from January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2012, there was a 16 percent increase in QCs from 2011 to 2012 (100,201 to 116,171) and a 27 percent increase over the past three years (91,652 to 116,171).

California was home to the most QCs generating 58,415 over the three-year period. It was followed by Florida (29,086), Texas (27,107), New York (23,402) and Maryland (10,315).

The report further breaks down the QCs by city and by Core-Based Statistical Area (CBSA). The top five cities for QCs were New York (13,564), Los Angeles (7,779), Miami (5,503), Houston (5,464) and Baltimore (3,690). The top five CBSAs generating the most QCs were Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA (25,939), New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ (20,849), Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL (12,068), Dallas-Ft. Worth-Arlington, TX (6,719) and Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI (7,702).

Of the various insurance policy types, the top five identified in the report were personal automobile (209,724), personal property/homeowners (40,747), workers' compensation/employers' liability (11,151), commercial automobile (9,512) and commercial liability/general liability (7,519).

A single QC can contain up to seven referral reasons. The top five referral reasons reflected in this report were casualty-faked/exaggerated injury (50,472), vehicle-questionable auto/boat/heavy equipment theft (35,508), miscellaneous-prior loss/damage (29,646), miscellaneous-fictitious loss (29,017) and property-suspicious theft/loss non-vehicle (24,867).

The full report can be viewed and downloaded here.

Anyone with information concerning insurance fraud or vehicle theft can report it anonymously by calling toll-free 1-800-TEL-NICB (1-800-835-6422), texting keyword "fraud" to TIP411 (847411) or by visiting our Web site at www.nicb.org. Or, iPhone or iPad users can download the NICB Fraud Tips app to make it easy to quickly send a tip and get a response.

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 data analytics, investigations, training, legislative advocacy and public awareness. The NICB is supported by more than 1,100 property and casualty insurance companies and self-insured organizations. NICB member companies wrote $350 billion in insurance premiums in 2012, or more than 78 percent of the nation's property/casualty insurance. That includes more than 93 percent ($160 billion) of the nation's personal auto insurance. To learn more visit www.nicb.org.

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SOURCE National Insurance Crime Bureau