Matthew Smith founded Insurance Law Services, Inc., and pioneered using data from cell towers as evidence in civil insurance fraud cases. (Photo: Coalition Against Insurance Fraud)
There's a new expert at the helm of the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud. Matthew J. Smith, Esq., the organization's director of government affairs and general counsel since 2018, has succeeded Dennis Jay as the executive director of the Coalition. Jay recently retired after serving as the organization's executive director since its founding in 1993.
Smith has an impressive background, starting one of the leading law firms in the country that specializes in insurance fraud litigation. He has won more than 100 civil trials against unsuccessful fraudsters including home arsonists, chiropractors who fraudulently overbilled insurers, clinics and other would-be swindlers. In addition, his appellate decisions have been instrumental in setting critical legal precedents.
He also pioneered the use of data from cell towers as evidence in numerous insurance fraud cases, a practice that is now used nationwide.
Smith emphasized that the Coalition's first priority will always be to protect consumers from the costs and damage that insurance fraud inflicts. "We see insurance fraud increasingly moving to an international stage with worldwide fraud rings," he told PC360. "We are building lines of communication with fraud-fighting organizations around the globe to share information and best practices. As insurers seek to maximize profits by eliminating staffing, we will be a strong voice for the need to devote adequate resources to fighting insurance fraud, rather than taking the easy way out and simply passing fraud costs on to policyholders through higher premiums."
He says that the organization will also "be working with both legislators and regulators to make certain newly emerging and incredible fraud-fighting tools such as A.I., big data and predictive modeling are used correctly to help consumers and not misused for other purposes."
Smith finds that the increased use of technology provides both benefits and risks to insurers. "While these are great 'tools' they are only that and not a replacement for strong SIUs and trained professionals. There is nothing inherently wrong about 'right-sizing' as technology improves, or outsourcing some services, but striking the right balance is crucial."
He believes that while fraud is easier to identify today because of these tools, it is also harder to track and stop. "Where only a few decades ago, fraud was normally local, now fraud rings may be operating in a given city but doing so from computers in Eastern Europe, Asia or anywhere," he adds.
The good news is that education efforts are paying off and more consumers are aware of the cost of insurance fraud and its effect. The Coalition's recent "4 Faces" study found that "80% of Americans are extremely to moderately concerned about insurance fraud and its impact on their lives," shares Smith. "One of our best assets, as a consumer advocacy group, is for the American public to be knowledgeable about and engaged in the fight against insurance fraud…'the crime we all pay for.'"
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