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Florida auto insurance fraud hits us all.

According to a recent report by InsuranceNewsNet Florida tops all states for staged accidents. In 2010, dubious claims jumped 64 percent in the Orlando area, 52 percent in the Tampa area, and 13 percent in Miami, the state total reaching 2,779, up 39 percent from the previous year.

Auto insurance fraud has become more widespread and better organized, increasing the financial losses suffered by insurance companies and making it more difficult for them to detect and combat fraud effectively. In the end, all car and vehicle owners suffer as insurers increase their rates to compensate huge losses.

The fraud scheme starts with the recruitment of willing participants who stage crashes involving two or three cars and three to five people. The “injured victims” are sent to storefront clinics for dubious treatments. These clinics then bill insurers the $10,000 limit on the participants’ personal injury coverage.

Taking advantage of the state’s no-fault auto accident coverage, the criminals can repeat the same fraud scheme indefinitely with little risk of being caught. Meanwhile, state lawmakers are preparing draft legislation to curb auto-insurance fraud of this type.

A sound accident insurance coverage system is essential to protect the driver and his or her passengers. This requires healthy competition between insurance companies to keep rates as low as possible, and cannot be distorted by large scale fraud schemes that benefit criminals at the expense of the larger public.

If you or a loved one has been involved and hurt in a car or motorcycle crash caused by someone else, call immediately the Ormond Beach auto accident attorneys of Johnson & Gilbert for a FREE discussion of your case.

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