U.S. Insurers Say Fraud Costs on the Rise: Survey

October 9, 2012

  • October 10, 2012 at 2:47 am
    Luis says:
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    It’s very interesting information. 5-20 per cent means a great impact on the final benefits of a company.

  • October 10, 2012 at 12:18 pm
    boonedoggle says:
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    Duh! PC insurers reporting increases in personal lines fraud? When they bind policies from call centers located a thousand miles from the risk, how can they see obvious red flags? Same thing with claims. Rather than have adjusters located where they can be familiar with fraud demographics, claims are now handled by boiler room type call center clerks who are evaluated on how many calls they can conclude per hour. Sorry folks, but the trend toward 3 minute phone call claim investigations isn’t going to discover much fraud…

  • October 12, 2012 at 10:19 am
    Matt says:
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    Not surprised a bit. Tough economy makes it hard enough to deal with a regular claim without an insured trying to apply alterior motives. Major problem I deal with on a week to week basis is that too many carriers are dependent upon preferred contractor programs like Crawford Contractor Connection. I see these jokers given an inch and they take a mile on these carriers (and insureds). They are all well-versed on how to work the system and estimates to maximize their profits through the respective program without question. And why do these programs exist? Because they want to cut expense budgets. Pay people like me $500 for a $10,000.00 claim or pay $15,000.00 for that same $10,000.00 claim through your contractor connection…dumb. Do the math. So until the philosophy changes from ‘scared of litigation or complaints’ to ‘do it the right way’, fraud will continue to rise in insureds AND through their contractors.

  • October 17, 2012 at 5:07 pm
    Norm CT says:
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    A friend from FL told me after a hurricane he was cotacted by a claims adjuster (he never filed a claim). He had some exterior damage which he intended to fix himself, and received a check for just under 6 figures.

    • October 19, 2012 at 9:41 am
      D H M says:
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      Dean: Those are the P.A’s that walk neighborhoods after a storm event like attorneys but these folks never went to law school. It is eazier to to this than chase an ambulance. They will do their best to inflate a claim and keep insurance costs going up. It will just cost us all more in the long run. A disseervice to the public.

      Large insurance companies will continue to make their hard working legitimate adjusters work long hours for little pay throughout these events.

      • December 18, 2012 at 12:04 pm
        tweety bird says:
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        One thing i can say for sure. It is extremely sad when i see people being prompted into certan area’s of the insurance industry with not one bit of knowledge. Buildings and residential homes take certain knowledge and know how. The difference in building codes, wood, tiles…..etc. In Nassau County, NY just for an 1100 square foot ranch with no basement………..a builder is charging you $88K with out doing the electrical or the heating system with gas or oil. And that’s just for one main floor and a pull down attic. That is with basic material.
        Then they send some 28 y/o to your house to give you the estimate on your house w/o knowing anything about building material or the going rate for labor, overhead…………etc.

  • October 22, 2012 at 12:18 pm
    Roger says:
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    Like most companies, ours is focused on cutting adjusting expenses to the exclusion of all else, including quality investigation. There is now a lot more “safe” money in commiting insurance fraud than in any other crime I can think of. Only the insurance companies themselves can truly have an impact, and they are just not interested in doing so unless they can do it cost-free.



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