BEHAVING BADLY: METRO N.Y. AUTO CLAIMS

Even though New York City area claimants are not more seriously injured than other claimants, they receive significantly more medical treatment and report much higher economic losses that upstate claimants.

That’s according to a recent industry-backed Insurance Research Council study of auto injury insurance claims that finds that claimants from the New York City metropolitan area exhibit very different claim behaviors than claimants from the rest of the state.

Moreover, the disparity between upstate and downstate claimants widened considerably from 1992 to 2002. In 2002, economic losses reported under the personal injury protection (PIP) coverage averaged $11,508 per claimant in the New York City area, nearly three times the $3,869 average seen in the rest of the state. In contrast, in 1992, reported economic losses were much more similar ($5,140 among New York City area claimants, compared to $4,677 among claimants in the rest of the state).

The use of chiropractors, physical therapists, and alternative medical providers is more prevalent in the metro area, as is the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and electromyography (EMG). Also, the rate of attorney involvement is significantly higher in the New York City area.

Claims from the metro area were much more likely to be judged by file reviewers to involve the appearance of fraud and/or buildup. Nearly one in four (21 percent) PIP claims from the New York City area appeared to involve some element of fraud, compared with just 2 percent from the rest of the state.

The Insurance Research Council can be found at www.ircweb.org.