League of Cities Notes Efforts of Fla. DFS, Lt. Bosworth

A resolution, acknowledging the Florida Department of Financial Services efforts to fight insurance fraud has been presented to Tom Gallagher, Chief Financial Officer by the Florida League of Cities. The resolution specifically praised the work of Lt. Skip Bosworth, an investigator for the Division of Insurance Fraud, citing his work in obtaining a guilty verdict in a significant workers’ compensation case.

Clay Ford, League of Cities president, who also serves as Mayor Pro Tem for the City of Gulf Breeze, presented the resolution during a brief ceremony at the capitol in Tallahassee.

“This is a gracious acknowledgment of our department’s anti-fraud work, but we certainly realize the battle is not over,” Gallagher said. “Fraud is a serious problem in Florida and is costing our citizens millions of dollars in increased premiums and in increased costs for goods and services.”

Ford said fighting insurance fraud is very important to the Florida League of Cities, which arranges workers’ compensation coverage for governmental agencies throughout Florida. He said the league will continue to refer suspected cases of insurance fraud to the Department of Financial Services.

The department’s Division of Insurance Fraud has produced the highest number of insurance fraud arrests and convictions nationally in recent years. Suspected cases of insurance fraud in Florida can be reported anonymously on the Department of Financial Services website at www.fldfs.com. Insurance fraud costs each Florida family an estimated $1,400 annually.