Ask a PI -Insurance Fraud

INSURANCE FRAUD

Insurance fraud is big business in the U.S. How big? About $80 billion dollars a year—that's an average of $950 for each American family—according to the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud whose members represent insurance companies, consumer groups, and government agencies.

The most obvious cost to consumers appears as higher premiums, because insurers pass on the cost of insurance fraud to policy holders. But consumers pay for insurance fraud in other ways, too. The cost of consumer goods and services rises when manufacturers, service providers, and merchants pass through their increased insurance costs. Fraudulent insurance investment schemes rob Americans, particularly the elderly, of hard earned savings. Staged auto accidents and arson not only destroy property but endanger lives.

What is insurance fraud?