The cost of fraud to insurers and those with legitimate claims was brought home by one broker, who encountered three accident benefit claims in one week.
“I think the insurance industry and all those who are involved in eliminating the fraudulent claims and all other insurance related fraud, must become tougher on these culprits,” Prince Manickam told
Insurance Business. “Within the last week, I have come across three claims reports with large AB claim amounts and when I mention this to the prospects they all are in a shock and one lady began to cry as close to $100,000 has been paid off on her behalf to the paralegal and the lawyers. However, she received two treatments per week for four months and the lawyers paid her $11,000. She was pregnant at the time of the accident and lost her baby as well.”
Manickam was commenting on the article ‘
Man jailed one year for selling fake auto insurance,’ which told the story of a Michigan man who was sentenced to 12 months in prison as a habitual offender on six counts of insurance fraud.
It is people like that driving up the cost of insurance, and robbing accident victims who do deserve compensation, says Manickam.
“Someone is out there swindling all the money and the accident victims do not get what they really deserve. In the meantime, it has become a very difficult task to explain these claims to the underwriters and get approval to bind,” said Manickam. “I have seen cases after cases where $80 -$90 -$100,000 and over are paid by the insurance companies and the victims have either seen no money or a very small portion of the total amount paid. How can we stop this nonsense?”
