Eliminating staged accident fraud
Fort Myers, Fla--Florida insurance companies say they would like lawmakers to make changes to Florida law to crack down on staged accidents.
Florida is one of just 12 states requiring a $10,000 dollar personal injury protection clause in your policy. That means the insurance company pays up to $10,000 worth of medical claims directly to the medical provider...no questions asked. Scam artists take advantage of that provision by staging accidents and making false medical claims.
That's something insurance companies would like to see changed.
Justin Herndon with Allstate says fraud costs you about 20 percent of your insurance premiums.
He and other insurance companies would like to see Florida law changed to keep scam artists from ripping them off.
"The target needs to be these unscrupulous medical providers who are out there building up these claims and not testifying to the practices going on," said Herndon.
That's why insurance companies would like to see medical providers required to sign sworn statements about what treatments they have provided.
They'd also like a schedule of fees for attorneys...to keep those costs from ballooning.
Chair of the Florida Insurance and Banking sub-committee Representative Bryan Nelson says this is something he plans to look at this session.
He says his proposed bill isn't an insurance bill--it's an economic bill. Insurance providers say Floridians pay up to 400 dollars more than other states because of fraud from staged accidents.
"I know you know we have four of the top ten cities for this type of fraud in Florida," Nelson told WINK NEWS over the phone, "So we really need to look in every nook and cranny and try to squeeze out as much fraud as possible."
Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater is responding. He has set up a second personal injury fraud squad to investigate these crimes.