Identity theft may not have reached the insurance industry to the extent it has hit the credit card and banking industries, but the history of fraud in this country should be enough of a warning to insurers: Youre next. The USA PATRIOT Act has driven much of the industrys response to the issue, but carriers know all too well criminals dont have to be terrorists to be scammers.

BY ROBERT REGIS HYLE

Where theres a will, theres a way is as great an American tradition as opening day, apple pie, Fourth of July parades, and Big Macs and fries. Unfortunately for insurance carriers, that attitude also is prevalent in the criminal minds of people who commit fraud. Carriers have dealt with all types of insurance fraud for as long as they have been collecting premiums, but a new form of fraud has entered the criminal worldidentity theftand it threatens to become a major enforcement problem for insurers. Identity theft in the insurance industry is a very real and growing problem, says David Rioux, manager of the corporate security departmentinvestigative services, Erie Insurance Group.