The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) has some vexing news for Floridians. The Des Plaines, Ill.-based not-for-profit organization's recent analysis of questionable claims (QCs) reveals that the number of suspicious auto accidents that were either staged or deliberately caused is rising.

Just how significant is the increase? According to data submitted by NICB member insurance companies, there was a 58-percent leap in QCs in Florida in the past year alone (from 2008 to 2009). Alarmingly, Tampa reported 487 QCs related to staged/intentially caused accidents in 2009, a 290-percent uptick over the previous year. Miami pointed to 258 accidents (an 11-percent increase); Orlando had 240 such accidents, representing a 24-percent increase.

"South Florida used to be the focal point of these deliberate crashes," said NICB President and CEO Joe Wehrle. "While the Miami and Hialeah areas continue to show increased activity, the criminals have expanded their operation[s] northward, and Tampa is now at the epicenter of this crime trend."