The National Insurance Crime Bureau is a not-for-profitorganization that partners with insurers and law enforcementagencies to aid in the identification, detection, and prosecutionof insurance criminals. Claims sat down with theorganization's chairman, Mark Russell, to find out how adjusterscan better utilize this resource.

You partner with more than 1,000 property/casualtyinsurance carriers. Why is this sharing amongst competing companiesimportant?

Information sharing between companies, law enforcement,regulators, and consumers is the only way to make any groundagainst insurance fraud and vehicle theft. By now, we have allheard that insurance fraud is a huge problem that costs consumersand businesses in excess of $80 billion. In fact, it's the secondleading white-collar crime; only tax evasion is larger. This typeof fraud has even led to the deaths of innocent people in arson andstaged auto accidents, so we must work together to put an end tothe practice.

How can adjusters use the information youprovide?

The NICB provides investigative assistance to companies' specialinvestigative units (SIUs) and claim representatives. It alsoprovides stolen vehicle recovery data to claim representatives toassist them in the recovery process. We provide training to claimrepresentatives in conjunction with the National Insurance CrimeTraining Academy and to companies' special investigators throughits Special Investigators Academy. Claim adjusters are a criticallink in addressing and preventing insurance fraud.

What trends in fraud have you noticed in recentyears?

We've seen a marked increase in medical and injury fraud,including staged auto accident rings and vehicle chopping andcloning. Vehicle chopping is when cars are stolen, stripped, andravished for their parts. Vehicle cloning is a crime in whichstolen vehicles receive the identity of non-stolen, legally ownedvehicles of similar make and model. Through the use of counterfeitlabels, plates, stickers and titles, criminals disguise the trueidentity of the stolen vehicle to make it appear as if it is alegitimate, legally owned vehicle.

In what areas are there greater opportunities foradjusters to effectively combat fraud?

The greatest opportunities are in the auto injury lines (bodilyinjury and PIP claims) and workers' compensation claims. Also, autotheft remains a stubborn problem for consumers and insurancecompanies. This is largely due to the loss severity caused byexaggerated or non-existent injuries, including those attributed tostaged accidents.