NICB: Texas Sees 50 Percent Increase in Suspicious Roofing Claims Since 2010

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Mar 12, 2013, 06:00 ET

El Paso leads all Texas cities with 200 since 2010

DES PLAINES, Ill., March 12, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Long known for its epic weather-related events, a report released today by the National Insurance Crime Bureau indicates that some Texas insurance fraud might also be prompted by weather. Since 2010, questionable roofing claims have increased by 50 percent in Texas.

A questionable insurance claim (QC) is one that does not appear in all respects to meet the requirements for a valid insurance claim. It may contain outright falsehoods, elements of exaggeration, or include one or more indications of possible insurance fraud. QCs are initial referrals to NICB by its member insurance companies and they are not definitive acts of fraud.

In 2010, a total of 370 roofing QCs were referred to NICB by its member companies. That number grew to 557 in 2012—a 50 percent increase. El Paso topped the list of Texas cities for roofing QCs with 200. It was followed by Arlington with 92 and Fort Worth with 73.

The number one referral reason for all Texas roofing QCs in 2010, 2011, and 2012 was hail damage with 364. Next was mechanical damage with 308 followed by wind damage with 281.

The "homeowners" policy type was the most identified with 1,177 out of a total of 1,308 roofing QCs from 2010 through the end of 2012.

The full report is available here.

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 website 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 over $319 billion in insurance premiums in 2011, or approximately 80 percent of the nation's property/casualty insurance. That includes more than 94 percent ($152 billion) of the nation's personal auto insurance. To learn more visit www.nicb.org.

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SOURCE National Insurance Crime Bureau