The year was 1912 and Woodrow Wilson was president. Jim Thorpewon Olympic gold in the decathlon and pentathlon events atStockholm, Sweden. New Mexico became the 47^th state in January followeda month later by Arizona, completing the contiguous U.S. In April, RMS Titaniccame to rest on the Atlantic Ocean floor at a depth of over 12,500 feet.

On assembly lines pioneered by HenryFord, roughly 50,000 utilitarian Model T Touring Cars would becranked out in 1912—at a cost to eager buyers of $690. While someAmericans today annually spend that amount and more on coffee, $690was a small fortune in 1912, resulting in the creation of a newclass of criminal, the car thief.

The theft of three Chalmers brand automobiles from the streetsof Chicago in the summer of 1912 led to the creation of theAutomobile Protective and Information Bureau (APIB) under theleadership of FredJ. Sauter. His employer, Boston Insurance Company, insured oneof the vehicles. Two different insurance companies covered theother vehicles.

Sauter recognized the efficiency in collaborating with the other companies rather than individuallypursuing leads to recover the vehicles. Moreover, by casting hisnew organization as the bridge between insurers and lawenforcement, he established the model that exists to this day.Recognizing Sauter's success, several other organizations attemptedto replicate APIB only to cause confusion among insurers and lawenforcement as to which organization was the single point ofcontact for information.

All of that was solved in 1927 when the various groups wereconsolidated into the National Automobile Theft Bureau (NATB). FredSauter was elected as NATB's chairman and held that position untilhe retired in 1962. Throughout the years, NATB built areputation—unparalleled to this day—as the only organization thathad special agent investigators who define the term “subject matterexperts” when discussing stolen vehicle identification. NATB agentswere routinely requested to find hidden vehicle identificationnumbers (VINs). They would also “raise” identification numbers thathad been removed by auto thieves attempting to hide the trueidentity of a stolen vehicle.

In 1992, NATB merged with the Insurance Crime PreventionInstitute (ICPI) to form the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). The merger combined thevehicle investigation expertise of the NATB with the insurancefraud prevention knowledge of ICPI, establishing NICB as thepremier not-for-profit insurance crime investigation company.

In recent years, vehicle theft has declined,because of better anti-theft technology and law enforcement efforts. Many of theprofessional thieves have moved on to more insidious and lucrativekinds of insurance crimes, such as medical fraud and cargo theft. NICB,while maintaining its core mission of vehicle recovery, has alsotaken a lead role in combating these crimes.

When NICB questionable claims' analysis showed a dramatic increasein medical fraud associated with auto policies, NICB established,in 2002, its first Major Medical Fraud Task Force (MMFTF)operations in south Florida and New York City. Consisting ofdedicated NICB special agents and analytical resources, these taskforces also work closely with law enforcement and insurance companyspecial investigation unit personnel.

The task force environment puts those resources together wherecommunication, cooperation, collaboration, and coordination areeasily and effectively accomplished. The result is a morecoordinated and comprehensive attack on the most egregious kinds ofmedical fraud occurring within the task force'sjurisdiction.

The MMFTF model has been so successful that it has beenreplicated in Houston, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Edison, NewJersey (serving the Philadelphia and Delaware areas), and a secondFlorida task force was recently added in Tampa where Florida'sno-fault law enables auto policy medical fraud to thrive.

Every day millions of tons of merchandise are shipped by truck,train, rail, and plane to destinations all across the nation. Whilemost arrive without incident, a growing number of shipments arestolen in transit by organized groups or individuals eager to makea fast dollar by selling the items through an established networkof illicit brokers with direct access to black markets. In responseto this increasing commercial criminal activity, in 2006, NICB and the MarionCounty, Florida sheriff's department established the National CargoTheft Task Force (NCTTF).

“Insurance crime is causing billions of dollars in economic harmto the nation, the insurance industry and to individual consumersevery year,” says NICB President and CEO Joe Wehrle. “The schemes have evolved and have become morecomplex, but there is one constant through the ages; someone is getting something towhich they are not entitled and for which all of us must pay.

“While the Chalmers automobile that was a popular theft targeton the streets of Chicago a century ago may not have survived, NICBhas not only survived, but also has evolved into an organizationthat its 1,100 member companies and its law enforcement partnersacross the country can be proud to support.”