Claims News Service, Nov. 18, 9:05 a.m. EST -- Geico, the fourth largest private passenger auto insurer in the United States, is aggressively using state criminal systems to go after people convicted of auto theft or auto damage so the court can order them to personally return lost deductibles and other expenses to the company's policyholders.

Through its new CORTS program -- Court Ordered Restitution, Towing and Storage -- the company has gone after dozens of restitution cases, and the effort has resulted in thousands of dollars being returned to policyholders to pay back their deductibles and expenses.

Being present at the court hearings is a big part of the program's success. Says Tom Gross, Geico's coordinator for the CORTS program, "Sometimes we have to go to court repeatedly on the same case. Needless to say, our policyholders love us for appearing in court with them throughout the entire criminal proceedings."

Over the course of the year, Geico paid out $428,154 on assigned claims and won back $103,432 in restitution in 42 cases, recovering the deductibles for its policyholders in each case. The company's Payment Recovery Unit worked with state agencies to enforce the court restitution orders so that the victims actually received the restitution dollars from the convicted defendants.

The program in Maryland has been successful enough that the company launched it in Macon, Ga. earlier this year, and it is scheduled for rollout in Florida in the near future.

A new challenge is interesting other insurance companies in the process. So far, Geico is the only company seeking restitution through the criminal court system.

More information is available at www.geico.com.

Special Reports /

GEICO Pursues Restitution from Maryland Auto Thieves

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