NICB Reports 12 Percent Rise in Third Quarter 2010 Questionable Claims

News provided by

Dec 08, 2010, 11:50 ET

Inflated Towing and Storage Fees, Excessive Medical Treatment and Auto Glass Fraud among the Most Scrutinized

DES PLAINES, Ill., Dec. 8, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Insurance Crime Bureau today released its third quarter 2010 questionable claims (QC) referral reason analysis. The report examines six referral reason categories of claims—property, casualty, commercial, workers' compensation, vehicle and miscellaneous.

Through the third quarter of 2010, NICB received 70,295 QC referrals from its member insurance companies compared with 62,929 received in the same period of 2009—a 12 percent increase. 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 full report is available at www.nicb.org/file%20library/public%20affairs/3q-2010-qc-report.pdf.

Vehicle QC analysis disclosed that there were over 1,700 more referrals for suspected auto glass fraud in the third quarter of 2010—an increase of 511 percent—when compared with 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 with 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."

Anyone with information concerning vehicle theft and insurance fraud 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.

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.

SOURCE National Insurance Crime Bureau