NU Online News Service, Jan. 5, 3:40 p.m. EST

An astounding 22 percent of auto insurance claims in the NewYork City area appear to be fraudulent, according to a study by theInsurance Research Council (IRC).

In addition, as many as one in three claims with apparent abuselooks to be inflated, the IRC added.

"The apparent amount of fraud and excessive billing by somehealth care providers in the New York City metropolitan area istruly stunning when compared to the rest of the state," saidElizabeth Sprinkle, senior vice president at the IRC, in astatement.

The IRC's study, New York's No-Fault System: PreliminaryFindings From Closed Auto Injury Claims, said in 2010 claimabuse appeared to be involved in 35 percent of claims in the NewYork City area, up from 29 percent in 2007.

The news will likely not surprise insurers, which haverepeatedly pointed to loopholes in the state's no-fault autoinsurance law that allow medical professionals, attorneys andothers to exploit the system.

Allstate filed its seventh auto fraud-related lawsuit in New York at theend of December. The company's suits seek $10.5 million indamages.

According to the New York Alliance Against Insurance Fraud,questionable liability claims involving excessive medical treatmentsurged 42 percent during the first six months of 2010. Many claimsinvolved no-fault auto insurance claims submitted by medicalmills.

State Superintendent of Insurance James Wrynn is currentlyproposing revisions to regulations regarding New York's no-faultlaw. The superintendent has said that the changes he has proposedwould make it more difficult to commit fraud and abuse.

The IRC found that personal injury protection (PIP) claimspayouts in the New York City area were twice that of claims payoutsin the rest of the state. Health care providers charged insurersmore than the state's fee schedule for their services in a majorityof claims, the IRC said.

New York City area claimants are much more likely to visitmultiple health care providers and seek treatment fromchiropractors, physical therapists and acupuncturists thanclaimants elsewhere in the state.

Berkshire Hathaway Insurance Group is the largest writer of autoinsurance in New York with about a 27 percent market share,followed by Allstate with 19.2 percent, State Farm with 12 percent,Progressive Group with 6.6 percent and Liberty Mutual InsuranceGroup with about 5 percent, according to HighlineData.

Highline Data is a part of Summit Business Media, which alsoowns National Underwriter.