This week, hundreds of insurance company investigators, special agents, law enforcement officials, and other partners in (fighting) crime from across the nation and several other countries have descended on San Antonio, Texas for the International Association of Special Investigation Units' (IASIU) 26^th annual seminar.

The diverse offering of educational workshops and networking events represents one of many mechanisms the non-profit organization uses to further investigator training and community outreach while supporting anti-fraud legislation. The ultimate goal of IASIU and its membership is to prevent and detect insurance fraud, which the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud projects to cost insurers and policyholders an excess of $80 billion each year.

In a special award ceremony held on Monday, IASIU recognized the investigative excellence of a select number of individuals who have gone above and beyond the call of duty, and whose tireless efforts and relentless pursuit of unraveling fraud have not only benefited the insurance industry but also society at large.

David J. Rioux, vice president of corporate security at Erie Insurance and IASIU president, enlisted the help of fellow board members to distribute the 2011 awards in four categories: outstanding service, public service, analyst of the year, and investigator of the year.

Miles H. Watters Jr. of State Farm received the Outstanding Service Award. A 30-year claims professional, Watters has trained hundreds of claims and investigative professionals throughout his career and has served as president of the National Society of Professional Insurance Investigators and a board member of the International Association of Arson Investigators. In his acceptance speech, Watters reflected on the 10-year anniversary of the Sept. 11^th attacks and relayed the importance of training investigators to deal with increasingly sophisticated crime schemes.

“When we talk about 9/11, we realize that flying will never be the same,” Watters said. “As we move along, we also realize that technology has greatly evolved and will continue to evolve. We are not here for a two- or three-day vacation. We are here to learn and evaluate the effectiveness of our techniques.”

Ellen Withers, IASIU Secretary and editor of the organization's quarterly publication, SIU Today, next commanded the podium to announce the recipient of the 2011 Outstanding Public Service award, Dave Klimek. A special agent for the FBI, Klimek led a massive search and conducted exhaustive interviews to bust a large-scale staged crash ring in Texas. Klimek followed a single suspicious lead that subsequently led to an investigation involving some 200 members of law enforcement. A total 22 people, including doctors, lawyers and chiropractors, pleaded guilty to a $5-million operation that stole people's identities and bilked insurers.

Of the 22 individuals arrested in the sting operation, all but one were sentenced to federal prison.

Klimek expressed gratitude for having received the award and honored those who have made immense sacrifices when serving our country:

“I never got to serve in the military but joined the FBI over 10 years ago,” Klimek remarked. “Being a special agent is the closest I get [in terms of] serving my country.”

After receiving a standing ovation, Klimek donated half of his award to a memorial fund that honors two officers killed in the line of duty.  IASIU donated $10,000 to the same organization earlier this year. Klimek donated the remaining half to the Wounded Warrior Project, the chosen beneficiary for this year's charity golf tournament.  

In other awards, NICB's Anna Kostovos was named the Analyst of the Year Award for her impressive analyses of cellphone records related to a large commercial loss claim. A press release issued by the NICB noted that Kostovos' insight into a burned building investigation combined multiple cellphone records to prove that the claimant's actions were inconsistent with his fraudulent claims.

“Kosovos is a pioneer in using cellphone data and emerging technology,” a representative for the NICB said.

Kostovos' eloquent and lighthearted speech visibly moved the crowd at Monday's ceremony:

“I am both shocked and thrilled,” she began. “This is such a great honor and a testament that you can do anything with hard work. This award is the best souvenir one can expect from Texas—even better than those magnets I picked up in the airport. In any case, I am proud to be part of the NICB and IASIU and am thankful to have such supportive bosses and coworkers.”

The final award—the much anticipated Investigator of the Year—went to Pamela Stiefel of Hartford Insurance. Stiefel's successful operation began with a single suspicious claim involving a pickup truck. One person had retitled 10 cars in his name, and two of those had been transported to Mexico. Further investigation revealed a far-reached scam involving hundreds of vehicles being exported to Mexico and Lebanon. Sharing intelligence with colleagues and coordinating efforts with the FBI led to the indictment of 19 people and helped other insurers identify suspicious claims.

“The investigation also helped to spur legislation to close loopholes that had allowed these scams to thrive,” added Rioux during the presentation.

Stiefel was elated for the distinction, with IASIU members and some enthusiastic coworkers from the Hartford cheering her on.

“Thank you so much,” said Stiefel. “It is a privilege to work at such a great company and have a cool, interesting job. When I worked in the Air Force, that seemed cool. Then my employment at OSI seemed even cooler. But I must say this is the coolest job ever. All of the late hours are definitely worth it.”

Stay tuned for more exciting updates from PropertyCasualty360.com about the developments at the IASIU conference and on the industry fraud-fighting front.