I have always felt that law enforcement agencies should be nearly, if not completely, funded by fines and penalties paid by the bad guys. The general public shouldn’t be funding the majority of their operations.
When the economy is in the tank like it currently is, people tend to commit more insurance fraud, and because the economy is bad, the insurance companies have to cut back too, and thus quite a bit of their SIU (Special Investigation Unit) get laid off as well. When the enconomy is bad, the LAST thing an insurer should cut is their SIU just for that very reason.
I have two comments: one, if police were funded ONLY by fines and costs, we end up with a moral hazard whereby the police will make arrests based upon financial need instead of to protect and serve the public. Two, how does prescription diverson cost insurance companies? The problem of diversion is just that, a legal prescription, for a legal insured, is diverted to others; whether or not the prescription is diverted, it was procurred legally and for a valid purpose. If we can prevent the diversion, the costs will not decrease but remain the exact same; diverting anything does not increase the costs.
Seems your looking at the article and attacking the topics within. This is a major problem in America today. Everyone addressing the problem and not the root cause of the issue.
The cause that sums all of these problems are corrupt politicians plus state and federal agencies that have, what they feel is an unlimited income. If they would obtain fiscally conservative values, manage as it was their business and hold to their respective constitutions, we would have balanced budgets with a growing economy.
Economies rise and fall no matter what the government does. If our government were perfectly balanced with no corruption, we’d still have peaks and valleys in the economy. It just gives the economy the best shot at recovering when it’s down if the government is in order. No matter what they do, the government cannot prevent a recession and they cannot improve a rally. We’ve seen them try everything and the only thing that has ever made a difference is starting a war.
“we end up with a moral hazard whereby the police will make arrests based upon financial need”.
and your point is what exactly, we all know that speeding fines are only imposed for revenue enhancement.
really want to convince us otherwise? then fine, from now on, no dollar amount for a speeding ticket, you get six points on your license, and after 2 speeding tickets you lose your license. But they won’t implement that one, because it eliminates REVENUE ENHANCEMENT.
all about safety? B.S. with a capital S.
it is all about the money.
wrong, we haven’t seen them execute ceos for sending american jobs overseas, let us try that one. We also haven’t seen them execute bank ceos for stealing money from the american taxpayer, let’s try that one too.
Your point 2 is wrong, diversion does cost extra. My husband has a pain prescription. Dr prescribs enough so he could take 3 pills every day. He doesn’t use them that often so we only need to buy a prescription every other month. If he sold the left over pills or gave them away each month, we would refill the prescription every month thus doubling the cost to our insurance company.
Believe it or not, while they may use fines as a revenue enhancement tool, it still takes tax money to fund police activties. what I meant is that when fines and costs are the sole source of income for police, it is the onlyn incentive they have for funding and you would see fines levied for spitting and other minor “offenses”. In our state, fines and costs go to the general fund so the revenue is not dedicated to a specific activity….but back to the point, are you aware of the level of corruption that occurs when police use their powers to generate revenues? That is what goes in border states where they seize money, cars, boats and homes when they bust the “big” guys like the grandmother whose grandson did something stupid…that is the genie that I don’t want, no Pandora’s box is needed to remember that lesson…
If you only fill the prescription every other month, you do save the insurance company money and you save yourself money too, but those savings are gotten by not using all the pills. If you get 2 pills a month your total is 24 per year, not 12, just becuase you chose that; you would be the exception. for everyone else who uses all of their medication, the cost is the same, every year, no increase, UNLESS they can get another prescription and that is how diversion CAN increase the cost but that is not always the case; and most doctor won’t do that; you have to use the prescription as it was meant, not as you would like. So if the costs are increased, it is because of the dishonesty of those involved, not because diversion increases costs automatically…
Car insurance fraud on the rise
It is so secret that desperate people do desperate things.
Just as foreclosures on homes are are rising, an increasing number of Americans are also finding them self saddled with loan payments on luxury cars they can no longer afford. As a result of years of “Easy loans” and “Too good to pass up offers” many people bought expensive autos with little or no money down.
In a slow economy with a glut of new and used cars that dealers are having a difficult time selling, the value of these luxury cars have fallen off dramatically. The result of this decline in values means for many the amount they owe on the car is greater than the auto’s value. This leaves many people with cars they can not afford to own, but also can’t afford to sell . The real force that often pushes people over-the-edge is when their car experiences a break-down requiring an expensive repair. This can result in a person finding them selves witha car that has a resale value thousands of dollars less than the remaining finance balance, and now they need to lay-out $2,500 for a major repair.
The problem is particularly acute in Las Vegas, where sharp declines in tourism and construction have left thousands of workers unemployed, broke, and desperate. But cities like Chicago, and all over Illinois are also experiencing the same problems.
As I said before, Desperate situations often result in desperate acts. There are some that see no way out of their delima other than to report their auto as stolen hoping that their insurance company will pay the loss and in turn; releive them of the burden of the car. Authorities report a growing number of cars are being dumped in the Great Lakes, and being found burned along roadsides .
A word of warning if you’re considering carrying out any such plan……. Don’t.
Insurance companies are getting much better at discovering these kinds of scams. First your company is likely to check for evidence that could “Raise red flags”. Facts like, have you recently lost your job, is the value of the car low relative to the amount financed, are you behind on your payments. More often when they recover the car (Perhaps stripped and a total loss) they can determine if the car was last driven with a key, and if there was prior damage and or mechanical problems.
The chance that you’ll get away with such a SCAM is far less than it was in years past. Insurance companies “Cracking-down” on these kinds of crimes, have help bring down car insurance costs. More and more insurance companies are taking a very hard line; meaning ,if you get caught you will probably end up being prosecuted criminally, not just having your claim denied.
I have always felt that law enforcement agencies should be nearly, if not completely, funded by fines and penalties paid by the bad guys. The general public shouldn’t be funding the majority of their operations.
Yeah, our speeding fines go to the local library! Should be used for the department so we don’t have to keep downsizing.
When the economy is in the tank like it currently is, people tend to commit more insurance fraud, and because the economy is bad, the insurance companies have to cut back too, and thus quite a bit of their SIU (Special Investigation Unit) get laid off as well. When the enconomy is bad, the LAST thing an insurer should cut is their SIU just for that very reason.
I have two comments: one, if police were funded ONLY by fines and costs, we end up with a moral hazard whereby the police will make arrests based upon financial need instead of to protect and serve the public. Two, how does prescription diverson cost insurance companies? The problem of diversion is just that, a legal prescription, for a legal insured, is diverted to others; whether or not the prescription is diverted, it was procurred legally and for a valid purpose. If we can prevent the diversion, the costs will not decrease but remain the exact same; diverting anything does not increase the costs.
Seems your looking at the article and attacking the topics within. This is a major problem in America today. Everyone addressing the problem and not the root cause of the issue.
The cause that sums all of these problems are corrupt politicians plus state and federal agencies that have, what they feel is an unlimited income. If they would obtain fiscally conservative values, manage as it was their business and hold to their respective constitutions, we would have balanced budgets with a growing economy.
Economies rise and fall no matter what the government does. If our government were perfectly balanced with no corruption, we’d still have peaks and valleys in the economy. It just gives the economy the best shot at recovering when it’s down if the government is in order. No matter what they do, the government cannot prevent a recession and they cannot improve a rally. We’ve seen them try everything and the only thing that has ever made a difference is starting a war.
“we end up with a moral hazard whereby the police will make arrests based upon financial need”.
and your point is what exactly, we all know that speeding fines are only imposed for revenue enhancement.
really want to convince us otherwise? then fine, from now on, no dollar amount for a speeding ticket, you get six points on your license, and after 2 speeding tickets you lose your license. But they won’t implement that one, because it eliminates REVENUE ENHANCEMENT.
all about safety? B.S. with a capital S.
it is all about the money.
“We’ve seen them try everything”
wrong, we haven’t seen them execute ceos for sending american jobs overseas, let us try that one. We also haven’t seen them execute bank ceos for stealing money from the american taxpayer, let’s try that one too.
Fair enough (i guess), but we have seen them take their companies away though. Who remembers Standard Oil and the railroads?
Your point 2 is wrong, diversion does cost extra. My husband has a pain prescription. Dr prescribs enough so he could take 3 pills every day. He doesn’t use them that often so we only need to buy a prescription every other month. If he sold the left over pills or gave them away each month, we would refill the prescription every month thus doubling the cost to our insurance company.
Was it with our industry that attracts such crooks and liars!
Believe it or not, while they may use fines as a revenue enhancement tool, it still takes tax money to fund police activties. what I meant is that when fines and costs are the sole source of income for police, it is the onlyn incentive they have for funding and you would see fines levied for spitting and other minor “offenses”. In our state, fines and costs go to the general fund so the revenue is not dedicated to a specific activity….but back to the point, are you aware of the level of corruption that occurs when police use their powers to generate revenues? That is what goes in border states where they seize money, cars, boats and homes when they bust the “big” guys like the grandmother whose grandson did something stupid…that is the genie that I don’t want, no Pandora’s box is needed to remember that lesson…
If you only fill the prescription every other month, you do save the insurance company money and you save yourself money too, but those savings are gotten by not using all the pills. If you get 2 pills a month your total is 24 per year, not 12, just becuase you chose that; you would be the exception. for everyone else who uses all of their medication, the cost is the same, every year, no increase, UNLESS they can get another prescription and that is how diversion CAN increase the cost but that is not always the case; and most doctor won’t do that; you have to use the prescription as it was meant, not as you would like. So if the costs are increased, it is because of the dishonesty of those involved, not because diversion increases costs automatically…
Car insurance fraud on the rise
It is so secret that desperate people do desperate things.
Just as foreclosures on homes are are rising, an increasing number of Americans are also finding them self saddled with loan payments on luxury cars they can no longer afford. As a result of years of “Easy loans” and “Too good to pass up offers” many people bought expensive autos with little or no money down.
In a slow economy with a glut of new and used cars that dealers are having a difficult time selling, the value of these luxury cars have fallen off dramatically. The result of this decline in values means for many the amount they owe on the car is greater than the auto’s value. This leaves many people with cars they can not afford to own, but also can’t afford to sell . The real force that often pushes people over-the-edge is when their car experiences a break-down requiring an expensive repair. This can result in a person finding them selves witha car that has a resale value thousands of dollars less than the remaining finance balance, and now they need to lay-out $2,500 for a major repair.
The problem is particularly acute in Las Vegas, where sharp declines in tourism and construction have left thousands of workers unemployed, broke, and desperate. But cities like Chicago, and all over Illinois are also experiencing the same problems.
As I said before, Desperate situations often result in desperate acts. There are some that see no way out of their delima other than to report their auto as stolen hoping that their insurance company will pay the loss and in turn; releive them of the burden of the car. Authorities report a growing number of cars are being dumped in the Great Lakes, and being found burned along roadsides .
A word of warning if you’re considering carrying out any such plan……. Don’t.
Insurance companies are getting much better at discovering these kinds of scams. First your company is likely to check for evidence that could “Raise red flags”. Facts like, have you recently lost your job, is the value of the car low relative to the amount financed, are you behind on your payments. More often when they recover the car (Perhaps stripped and a total loss) they can determine if the car was last driven with a key, and if there was prior damage and or mechanical problems.
The chance that you’ll get away with such a SCAM is far less than it was in years past. Insurance companies “Cracking-down” on these kinds of crimes, have help bring down car insurance costs. More and more insurance companies are taking a very hard line; meaning ,if you get caught you will probably end up being prosecuted criminally, not just having your claim denied.
Larry Lubell
If you have a question, please contact us at 1-800-680-0707
http://www.ubraninsuranceagency.com/
http://urbannewsblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/car-insurance-fraud-on-rise.html