Survey Finds Gains In Antifraud Efforts
By Daniel Hays
NU Online News Service, Sept.16, 12:15 p.m. EDT, Chicago?An official of an insurance antifraud group said a survey has found a ramped-up effort against insurance fraud throughout the United States, but concerns are that the economy could dent that effort.
The report by Howard Goldblatt of the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud was made here yesterday to the Antifraud Task Force of National Association of Insurance Commissioners fall meeting session.
Mr. Goldblatt, director of government affairs for the Coalition, revealed preliminary figures from the survey of fraud bureaus. He said the number of cases referred to those bureaus had increased to 100,000 in 2002. Cases referred by fraud bureaus for prosecution, Mr. Goldblatt said, have seen a "huge uptick," going from 4,000 in 2000 to 5,000 in 2002.
The number of insurers with special investigative units to investigate fraud, he said, has increased from 40 percent in 1992 to a present level of 82 percent, according to Coalition preliminary figures.
From 1999 to 2000 budget increases for all fraud bureaus totaled more than $14 million, the survey found. Mr. Goldblatt, however, said the coalition at this point is "wondering if we will see a downtick because of budget crises in the states." He said the survey found that the number of cases referred for civil action had also increased greatly.
Mr. Goldblatt noted figures showing a reduced tolerance of fraud by the public. He attributed this to successful outreach programs with the message that victimizing insurers "hurts everyone's wallet." The message is gaining traction, he said.
He added, however, that there is a question whether the trend will hold up with the current problems in the economy. "It's something we're going to be monitoring," he said.
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