Typically, police and prosecutors refer to insurance fraud as “hard fraud” or “soft fraud”. More serious than soft fraud, hard fraud involves someone faking an accident, injury, theft, arson, etc., then they collect the money illegally from insurance companies. Often done alone, but organized …show more content…
Of claim cost in the U.S. and Canadian 5% – 10% are fraud accounts. In New York, as many as 1 out of 3 auto insurance claims fraud is a factor. According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau insurance fraud is even worse in Los Angeles, it has the most questionable claims potentially linked to organized crime. Approximately 10% of property and casualty claims are fraud, healthcare is at 3% - 10% of fraud or $259 million per year, and auto insurance is anywhere from 21% - 36% of suspected fraud or buildup. Auto claim fraud and buildup added up to $5.6 billion - $7.7 billion in the U.S. in 2012. New York, Florida, Massachusetts, and California are the states with the most fraud claims. In New York, nearly 1 in 4 claims involves claim abuse. Fraud and claim abuse cost insurers about $658 million in Florida alone. 8% of house fires are suspected to be intentional. 5% of fraud cases were closed, 1% of them closed with an arrest. In 2013, there were 219,000 vehicle fires reported, 5.8% were …show more content…
Car insurance fraud convictions are mostly misdemeanors or soft fraud, which usually means there was some form of exaggeration or lie on the application. The lies are often where the car was kept, the seriousness of injuries in a minor crash, or using someone else’s name to purchase insurance. There must be a destruction of property in order for the claim to be a felony, this usually means arson or a staged accident. Probation isn’t likely when dealing with a felony and fines can run up to $150,000. Sentence run between 5 to 10