Fraudulent Insurance Claims Soar as Economic Recession Lingers

Published: Mon 17 May 2010

Perry Begay

More unscrupulous drivers are staging car accidents to file false car insurance claims, according to a recent report from the National Insurance Crime Bureau. Suspicious claims increased by 46 percent from 2007 to 2009 even though bodily and personal injury claims decreased.

The trend might be a function of an ailing economy as people search for fast ways to make money by defrauding auto insurance companies. The crooked drivers usually target innocent parties, luring them into collisions and collecting benefits from the staged accident. The elevated costs for car insurers ultimately appear in the premiums of all law-abiding policyholders.

What's more, 71,452 people died in car accidents from 2007 to 2009-a sobering reminder that these criminals put people's lives at risk in a dishonest effort to scare up some cash.

The states with the most staged accidents are those with the largest populations: New York, Florida, California, Illinois, and Texas. The problem appears especially acute in Florida, as the cities with the most staged accidents include Miami, Tampa, and Orlando in addition to Houston and New York.