In this tough economy, one type of insurance fraud is more popular than ever. It involves scam artists who stage car crashes in order to cash in.
Auto insurance reform must be a top priority in 2012
Opinion: Alan Maisel represents District 59 in the New York State Assembly.
No-fault auto insurance fraud has reached crisis level in New York State. As a result, New Yorkers currently pay 53 percent more than the national average for auto insurance premiums, which makes our state the fourth most expensive for such costs, trailing only Louisiana, Washington, D.C., and New Jersey.
State Sen. Diane Savino pointed to a number of her bills, already in the pipeline, that she's about to give a renewed push as topping her 2012 agenda, from worker safety to insurance fraud.
Senator James Seward outlined his keys for success for the 2012 session of the New York State Senate on Thursday morning, keys that focus on economic development, mandate relief, reform of the education aid formula and continued flood recovery assistance. He will also concentrate on additional steps to right size state government, halt insurance fraud and improve upstate roads and bridges.
Insurance fraud is causing Queens drivers to pay far more for insurance than they should. New findings from an Insurance Research Council study of personal injury protection claims closed in 2010 show that claims for medical expenses, lost wages, and other expenses related to injuries from auto accidents in the New York City area have risen 70 percent in the last decade, far more than the 49 percent increase in medical care inflation over that same timeframe.
State Senator Marty Golden was disappointed that the Governor failed to mention efforts to eliminate Medicaid and auto insurance fraud in his State of the State speech.
Allstate Insurance is seeking to recover more than $1.1 million from sixteen New York-area defendants. The complaint alleges that a chiropractor, layperson and two lay entities illegally owned and controlled three professional medical corporations allegedly owned on paper by a medical doctor and used them to submit fraudulent billing to Allstate.
Auto insurance policyholders are filing more injury claims than in recent years, and the increased frequency is driving up insurer costs and has altered the previous trend of fewer claims being filed, but for greater dollar amounts, according to a new report.
Coming on the heels of several legislative victories last year, auto insurance reform is shaping up to be one of the issues at the top of the legislative pile for 2012. Fraud Costs NY is one of several groups pushing for auto insurance reform. Auto insurance fraud currently costs New Yorkers more than $200 million per year.
Allstate Insurance Co. has filed its seventh insurance fraud lawsuit of the year, charging that 83 defendants in the New York area allegedly submitted fraudulent and misleading bills for payment. Allstate is seeking to recover $6.3 million in damages.
Two Town of Oxford residents are facing charges after authorities say they crashed their vehicle into a tree in order to collect insurance money.
By New York City Councilman Peter F. Vallone, Jr. and New York State Assemblyman Alan Maisel
No-fault auto insurance fraud has reached crisis level in New York State. As a result, New Yorkers currently pay 53 percent more than the national average for auto insurance premiums which makes our state the fourth most expensive for such costs, trailing only Louisiana, Washington, D.C. and New Jersey.
By New York City Councilman Peter F. Vallone, Jr. and New York State Assemblyman Alan Maisel
No-fault auto insurance fraud has reached crisis level in New York State. As a result, New Yorkers currently pay 53 percent more than the national average for auto insurance premiums which makes our state the fourth most expensive for such costs, trailing only Louisiana, Washington, D.C. and New Jersey. The costs are particularly high in the outer boroughs of New York City, where drivers in Brooklyn and Queens pay 185 percent and 167 percent more than the nationwide average, respectively, largely due to rampant no-fault auto insurance fraud.
A driver in Rochester pays an average of $103 for his no-fault car insurance premium. If that same driver lived on Staten Island, the estimated cost would be an average of $324. The state as a whole pays the fourth highest premium in the country, behind Louisiana, Washington, D.C. and New Jersey -- and residents of the five boroughs account for a larger share than their upstate counterparts. What's driving up the state's insurance rates? Fraudulent no-fault claims, according to advocates pushing for legislative reform that would include criminal penalties on a law enacted in 1974 to cut down on excess litigation.
Brooklyn drivers pay 185 percent more than the state average for auto insurance, according to activist coalition Fraud Costs New York. The organization blames statewide fraudulent no-fault claims, more than half of which originate in Brooklyn and Queens. On November 14, coalition members including Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, Kings County District Attorney Charles Hynes and Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce President Carl Hum gathered on the steps of Brooklyn Borough Hall to speak out against what they are calling a flawed system.
New findings from an Insurance Research Council (IRC) show that New York's broken no-fault auto insurance system, which pays for auto accident injuries, is plagued by fraud, overuse of health care services and lawsuit abuse, often by health care providers, according to the Fraud Costs New York Coalition.
Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis teamed up today with Richmond County District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan and Staten Island Chamber of Commerce President Linda Baran to call on Governor Cuomo to make No-Fault Auto Insurance Reform a top priority for the upcoming legislative session.
In 2004, Brooklyn Community Board 2 employee Carol-Anne Church was involved in a serious car accident. She was sideswiped by a driver who ran a red light, sending her car onto the sidewalk and nearly through a storefront window. At the emergency room, Church noticed that a man appeared to be watching her. He approached her after she was discharged, telling her he could get her maximum compensation through his network of doctors, lawyers and other medical professionals he claimed specialized in a variety of different soft tissue injuries. She declined his offer, thinking his promises too good to be true.
Councilmember Elizabeth Crowley (D-Glendale) has joined a statewide coalition that is dedicated to curbing widespread auto insurance fraud that costs New Yorkers millions of dollars annually. The coalition, called Fraud Costs New York (FCNY), includes Queens District Attorney Richard Brown, among its members. The broad coalition, which also includes three other district attorneys, civic associations, small businesses and other elected officials, is committed to changing New York state's no-fault automobile insurance system which fosters insurance fraud and lawsuit abuses that drive up costs for consumers.
Fraud Results in High Auto Insurance Rates
Borough President Marty Markowitz, Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes and others gathered on Borough Hall Plaza to urge passage in Albany of a bill that would strengthen measures against insurance-fraud perpetrators.
The bill is important to Brooklyn, they said, because the borough has one of the highest rates of insurance fraud in the country.
When Carol-Anne Church was injured in a 2004 accident in Brooklyn, a man followed her to King's County Hospital and offered her a network of attorneys and doctors and free taxi service to each appointment. "I knew that this was only going get me into a web of lies and deceit. I understood that it would be fraud," she said on Monday.
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes, United States Congressman Ed Towns (D-Brooklyn), New York State Assemblyman Alan Maisel (D-Brooklyn) and Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce President Carl Hum today joined forces on the steps of Brooklyn Borough Hall to urge the State Legislature to reform New York's outdated no-fault auto insurance laws, create stricter penalties for no-fault criminals and close the loopholes that allow criminals to continually slip through the cracks and steal money out of the pockets of hard working New Yorkers.
New York City Councilmember Elizabeth Crowley has joined the fight for no-fault auto insurance reform. Councilmember Crowley, who serves as Chair of the City Council's Fire and Criminal Justice Committee, said, "People who get a slap on the wrist often become repeat offenders. We need to increase the penalty for those who break the law and act as 'runners' on no-fault insurance policies."
Allstate Insurance is seeking to recover more than $5 million from 21 New York-area defendants in its fifth insurance fraud lawsuit of 2011. The complaint alleges that 17 laypersons and lay entities illegally owned and controlled three professional acupuncture corporations and used them to submit fraudulent billing to Allstate. Since 2003, Allstate has filed 33 fraud lawsuits in New York, seeking nearly $180 million in damages.
In response to the recent bust up of an auto insurance fraud racket in Brooklyn which included 20 scammers accused of staging car accidents and filing false claims, Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes is again calling on state lawmakers to act swiftly to reform New York's broken no-fault auto insurance system.
The feds have busted 20 people in Brooklyn today for staging car accidents and filing false claims, authorities said. The group would stage the accidents, then call police in order to file reports in a scheme to make millions of dollars worth of fraudulent claims, sources told The Post.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: "As alleged, these defendants engaged in a massive fraud that pervaded every aspect of the no-fault insurance industry - faking injuries, bills, and even accidents - that defrauded private insurers, Medicare, Medicaid, and ultimately taxpayers, out of millions of dollars. The breadth and brazenness of their alleged scheme is virtually unparalleled, and illustrates the perniciousness of the health care fraud problem.
The invoices were for medical equipment patients use in their homes, such as wheelchairs, hospital beds, nebulizers and oxygen tents. Concord resident Aleksandr Finkelshteyn and his sibling Robert Finkelshteyn of Brooklyn, submitted millions of dollars of bills to no-fault insurance carriers for such items, authorities maintain. But the Finkelshteyns, who were in cahoots with the suppliers, never received that equipment -- and neither did patients -- allege prosecutors.
Allstate Insurance Co. says it has filed its 32nd fraud suit in the state of New York, this time seeking $4.5 million from more than 20 medical professionals. The company announced it filed suit against five medical doctors, seven chiropractors and 10 medical-professional corporations along with one nonprofessional in a scheme to allegedly bill insurance companies fraudulently for procedures, including procedures that were medically unnecessary and/or inappropriate.
The United Community Civic Association in Astoria, addressed its annual theme, "In What State Is New York State?" with longtime president Rose Marie Poveromo presiding and State Sen. Mike Gianaris (D-Astoria) and State Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas (D-Astoria) as guest speakers. As part of the discussion both elected officials noted auto insurance fraud is running rampant and should be addressed.
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown's office is doing everything it can to help reduce the astronomical rates borough residents pay for car insurance. In October 2008, 61 individuals and two corporations were charged for their role in bilking insurance carriers for alleged unnecessary medical services for exaggerated or fabricated injuries. In addition to the criminal charges, the District Attorney's Office filed a civil forfeiture action against several of the defendants - which resulted in the restitution payouts. Brown said, "The consumer, in the last analysis, pays the bill because the cost of the fraud is ultimately passed on to all of us by way of increased insurance premiums - adding an extra 10 percent to New York drivers' premiums annually."
An alleged scam artist who devised a massive scheme to defraud insurance companies out of millions of dollars has finally been arrested in Puerto Rico. An Attorney General's investigation revealed that Arthur Bogoraz defrauded no-fault insurance providers by using stolen identification information to set up medical practices, sent false bills to no-fault insurance companies, and then laundered more than $4.5 million in fraudulently filed claims.
Twelve individuals have been indicted by a Queens County grand jury on insurance fraud and other charges for allegedly staging motor vehicle accidents to generate fraudulent billing for unnecessary medical treatments and for coaching legitimate accident victims to exaggerate injuries.
The Organization of Chinese Americans, Lower East Side Coalition Housing Development, Inc., M&M Environmental Services, Cheeky Sandwich Shop and YJ Trading, Inc. today joined the Fraud Costs New York coalition.
Auto Insurance Reform Must Be Top Priority
New Yorkers are facing economic uncertainty across the board and so many of us are being forced to do more with less. But as taxpayers tighten their belts across New York, criminals are left unchecked to slip through loopholes in the state's no-fault auto insurance system, costing honest New Yorkers hundreds of millions of dollars each year. As this legislative session comes to a close, Albany must cut the "Fraud Tax" and bring some financial relief to New York's working families.
A ring of 16 scammers has been busted for bilking more than $300,000 from insurance companies, authorities said yesterday. The suspects, arraigned yesterday in Bronx Criminal Court, allegedly collected on bogus claims filed with GEICO, Allstate, GMAC, Liberty Mutual and Progressive. They were arrested over the last five days. Cops are still looking for five alleged accomplices, authorities said.
In a rare event, five county district attorneys met this week in Manhattan. Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes, along with Queens County District Attorney Richard A. Brown, Richmond County District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan, Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen M. Rice and New York County District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. have allied together against fraud. The top prosecutors joined the Fraud Costs New York coalition.
Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. said, "Without real reform in Albany, criminals will continue to milk the system to their advantage and gouge the people of New York. We need sensible reforms that continue real protections for New Yorkers who are hurt in accidents, but undercut the criminals who feed on the current system. I urge Albany to take up the fight for no-fault reforms now."
Trying to make a buck off your car insurance by faking a crash could now cost you. Thousands of no-fault car accidents are faked in New York each year to rip off insurance companies. Impending Albany legislation would finally give prosecutors a specific statute to try to nail the criminals who are staging them.
The so-called Fraud Costs New York coalition today touted support from five regional district attorneys including, as earlier cited, Kathleen Rice of Nassau County. No-fault insurance bills may be in motion as the State Legislature in Albany grinds toward summer recess.
Bronx drivers pay a state-high $723 a year in no-fault premiums, which cover the personal-injury portion of auto-insurance bills. That's more than three times the state average of $202, figures show. Brooklyn motorists also get socked, to the tune of $554, and the citywide average is a hefty $491. Thanks to abuse of the state's no-fault system, this amounts to a $200 million-a-year "fraud tax" for New York drivers, according to the district attorneys of the five boroughs and Nassau County, who yesterday joined the Fraud Costs New York coalition promoting reform.
A coalition of elected officials and district attorneys demonstrated in Downtown Manhattan Wednesday for harsher penalties for auto insurance fraud. Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes said there is no specific law targeting people who stage car accidents to file phony claims.
District attorneys from all over New York gathered on the steps of City Hall in Lower Manhattan on Wednesday to propose new legislation to reform "no fault" insurance fraud.
Four out of five New York City district attorneys have joined the Fraud Costs New York coalition, a group of government and business interests pushing legislation to clean up the state's no-fault insurance system.
Queens County District Attorney Richard A. Brown, Richmond County District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan, Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes, Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen M. Rice and New York County District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. today joined the Fraud Costs New York coalition.
Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice has entered the fray over no-fault auto-insurance reform, urging better anti-fraud statutes. She supports the "Fraud Costs New York" coalition, backed by other elected officials such as County Executive Edward Mangano, along with civic, commercial, and insurance trade groups.
New York business leaders are urging lawmakers to pass legislation to help fight insurance fraud they say is costing the state and policyholders millions. Fraud Costs New York, a coalition of business leaders, consumers and lawmakers, is calling on the state Legislature to reform the no-fault auto insurance system to curb cases of fraud and insurance abuses they say totaled more than $200 million last year.
A wide range of groups are calling for the state to fix what they say is a broken no fault automobile insurance system, which they describe as creating a de facto "fraud tax" on businesses. The New York State Business Council, along with chambers of commerce from Long Island, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island are pushing for no-fault auto insurance reforms. The coalition fighting for tougher no-fault laws is calling for tougher penalties for insurance fraud, sufficient time to investigate fraud and requiring health care providers to submit claims to arbitrators.
Business Council, Chambers Join Push for No-Fault Auto Insurance Reform
Fraud Costs New York, a statewide coalition dedicated to curbing the rampant auto insurance fraud that costs New Yorkers and small businesses millions of dollars every year, today announced that the New York State Business Council, along with Chambers of Commerce from Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Long Island, have joined the fight for no-fault auto insurance reforms.
Allstate Insurance Co. is seeking to recover $4 million against 20 New York area defendants in its first insurance fraud lawsuit of 2011. The complaint specifically cites six physicians, eight medical professional corporations and the lay-owned companies allegedly used to control the medical professional corporations.
In these uncertain economic times, the Queens small business community faces immense challenges. It becomes even more difficult for Queens business owners to make ends meet when they are forced to foot an outrageous "fraud tax" bill in the form of auto insurance premiums 167 percent higher than the national average.
Allstate Insurance Company is seeking to recover $4 million against 20 New York area defendants in its first insurance fraud lawsuit of 2011. The complaint specifically cites six physicians, eight medical professional corporations, and the lay-owned companies allegedly used to control the medical professional corporations. Since 2003, Allstate has filed 28 fraud lawsuits in New York State, seeking more than $165 million in damages.
Editorial By State Sen. Marty Golden (D-Southern Brooklyn)
On Tuesday, April 26, the New York state Senate held a public hearing on ways to combat the constant and systemic problem of fraud in no-fault auto insurance. No-fault fraud has been plagued by scams, set up to steal millions of dollars from the insurance companies. This causes premiums to go up, and even has some providers re-considering continuing coverage in New York state. If we do not act to stop this corruption, we will lose auto-insurance coverage, from both large and small providers.
Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes yesterday backed efforts to stop the $200 million-a-year auto-insurance fraud "industry," which often stages phony accidents that leave bystanders badly injured. "The 'fraud industry' has ballooned into a multimillion-dollar-a-year criminal enterprise," said Hynes, standing with state lawmakers sponsoring a tough anti-insurance-fraud bill.
New Yorkers pay the third highest car insurance rates in the nations. And a new coalition of lawmakers and law enforcement personnel is trying to bring down those rates by cracking down on insurance fraud. They say criminals game the system for a quarter of a billion dollars a year. Brooklyn District…
Lawmakers are calling for an overhaul of the state's no-fault auto insurance regulations to better protect against fraud. Senate Insurance Committee Chairman James Seward, R-Milford, and committee members Martin Golden, R-Brooklyn, and Jack Martins, R-Mineola, conducted a hearing April 26 to listen to testimony from industry representatives, consumer protection groups and other stakeholders who presented recommendations on how to mitigate fraud in the system and comment on the three related bills introduced by the senators.
Insurance fraud is up statewide, according to first quarter figures released by the New York State Insurance Department. The Frauds Bureau recorded 211 arrests during the first quarter of 2011, up from 178 during the same period last year and 172 in 2009.
Editorial by Jack Friedman, executive director of the Queens Chamber of Commerce
In these uncertain economic times, the small business community faces immense challenges. It becomes even more difficult for business owners to make ends meet when they are forced to foot an outrageous "fraud tax" bill in the form of auto insurance premiums 167% higher than the statewide average.
The State Legislature, in an effort to balance its budget this month, has asked New Yorkers to do more with less - less for schools, less for health care and less for a wide variety of programs. The least they can do is also ask criminals who make millions by running auto insurance scams to do with less as well, and in the process cut the Fraud Tax that all New Yorkers pay.
Allstate Insurance Co. is urging New York lawmakers to find ways to combat the growing number of no-fault insurance frauds that trade groups say cost drivers more than $200 million last year.
Insurance groups again made their case during a New York legislative hearing for reforms to the state's no-fault system, which the groups say is riddled with fraud and costs citizens hundreds of millions of dollars a year.
New York's fraud-riddled no-fault automobile insurance system costs state taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars annually, the New York Insurance Association Inc. said Tuesday as it lobbied for reforms sponsored in the Assembly by Joseph Morelli, D-Irondequoit.
Fraud Costs New York, a coalition of thousands of concerned New Yorkers, is urging the New York Senate Insurance Committee to take action on behalf of New York citizens and move on comprehensive reforms that address the state's growing insurance fraud crisis.
In March, the state Senate passed a bill sponsored by Sen. James Seward that would make it a felony to intentionally cause an auto accident. The legislation now is in the Assembly's hands. This is the Legislature's opportunity to deter criminals from preying on innocent victims in an effort to benefit from committing insurance fraud.
If you're in an accident and there's something a little odd about either the incident itself or what happens in the days and weeks following, you might be right to think that you-and your insurer-are being played.
New York's already high car insurance rates went up again last year, helped in part by insurance fraud. The New York Daily News reports insurance rates are up 4 percent statewide since last year. Now a coalition of elected officials and community leaders is hoping to crack down on the fraud that is leading to higher rates.
An increase in auto insurance fraud helped push New York's already sky-high rates up 4% last year, the Daily News has learned. To keep costs under control, Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes is joining an industry-backed coalition of elected officials, community groups and businesses to fight back. Hynes and the group, Fraud Costs NY, are pressing lawmakers to make it a felony when fraudsters stage accidents to cash in on the no-fault insurance payouts.
A Bronx man was busted after police said he claimed to be injured in an accident last year that video showed he was not involved in, authorities said today. Gabriel Leon Hernandez, 33, was charged Wednesday with second-degree insurance fraud, second-degree grand larceny and first-degree falsifying business records after he claimed to being injured as a result of a Sept. 22, 2010 tractor trailer accident that occurred on the approach to the RFK Triboro Bridge.
Buffalo continues to be home to an unusually high number of questionable medical insurance claims, according to a new report by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB).
With 145 questionable claims, Buffalo was second only to New York City, which had a whopping 4,016 questionable claims or 57 percent of the statewide total.
On March 23, the New York State Senate passed a bill, sponsored by Sen. James Seward, which would make it a felony to intentionally cause a vehicle collision. The legislation, now going to the New York State Assembly for consideration, would hopefully be a deterrent for the criminals who prey on innocent motorists in an effort to benefit from insurance fraud.
A Manhattan man has been sentenced to 2 ½ to 7 ½ years in prison and fined $800,000 for perpetrating a massive no-fault insurance fraud through a criminal enterprise known as the St. Nicholas Group.
The Insurance Department reported statewide arrests and convictions over the past month on charges of fraud. Oleg Chukhanenko of Buffalo pleaded guilty to insurance fraud in the third degree and attempted arson in the third degree.
A state appeals court has upheld the 2007 conviction of Joseph Houghtaling, who was found guilty of falsifying business records. The Colonie man and his now-estranged wife, Renee Houghtaling, were found guilty of falsifying the business records in connection with an allegedly staged car crash on May 6, 2001.
Insurance fraud is on the upswing and is costing drivers in Buffalo and all of New York State millions of dollars each year. That is why legislation by Sen. James L. Seward and Assemblyman Joseph D. Morelle should be quickly approved by the Legislature and signed by the governor.
Allstate has received claims from a seemingly staged auto accident depicted in a surveillance video released by the New York City Police Department late Tuesday. The incident occurred in the Bronx less than a year ago. On the same day, the New York State Senate passed a Staged Accident Bill that would make it a felony to intentionally cause a vehicle collision.
The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) and its partners in the Fraud Costs New York Coalition (FCNY) are encouraged that the New York Senate has taken the first step in addressing auto insurance fraud this session by passing legislation (S-1685) to crack down on staged accidents.
In what the authorities say was a criminal version of "demolition derby," nine suspects were caught by a surveillance camera deliberately ramming their vehicles into one another on a Bronx street last summer.
Almost nine in 10 suspected health care fraud cases in New York last year came from no-fault auto injury claims, a cottage industry so rife with abuse that the state Insurance Department wants to tighten regulations.
To help fight rising no-fault insurance premiums, and the insurance fraud that helps cause them, a coalition of community groups, small businesses, elected officials and law enforcement have joined forces to push for industry reforms.
Fraud Costs New York, a statewide coalition dedicated to curbing the rampant auto insurance fraud that costs New Yorkers millions of dollars every year, today announced that City Councilmembers Peter F. Vallone Jr. and Daniel J. Halloran, along with 20 Queens-based community groups, have joined the fight for no-fault auto insurance reforms.
Of the 14,625 suspected health care fraud reports that the New York State Insurance Department received, 12,807 of them involved the state's no-fault system, according to the insurance superintendent's annual fraud report.
Suspicious no-fault automobile insurance claims are the most common type of health care-related fraud in New York state, according to a new report released by the New York State Insurance Department.
A New York senator introduced a bill to "enact comprehensive reforms to reduce fraud, abuse and the associated costs in the New York no-fault system."
Suspicious no-fault automobile insurance claims accounted for most of the 14,625 reports of suspected health care-related fraud sent to the New York State Insurance Department last year.
The insurance industry is applauding the introduction of a bill that could corral costs related to fraud and abuse of New York's no-fault automobile insurance system. The measure, Senate bill 2816, was introduced by state Senator James Seward, R-Oneonta. It would implement tougher penalties on cheaters of the system, modify rules to allow insurers to investigate claims, prevent excessive and unnecessary medical costs, and mandate the use of an arbitrator for disputed claims.
New York lawmakers are considering a bill designed to reduce fraud and other types of abuse in the state's no-fault automobile insurance system. The bill, introduced by State Sen. James Seward, would modify a rule that requires insurers to pay no-fault claims in 30 days, said Kristina Baldwin, assistant vice president for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America.
The Senate's four-person Independent Democratic Conference wants to crack down on what's termed "rate evasion," in which drivers who live in regions of the state where auto insurance is expensive -- such as New York City and Buffalo -- register their vehicles out of state to secure a cheaper policy.
Four out of every 10 people who submit medical claims to auto insurers after car crashes in the New York City area visit an acupuncturist for treatment, according to a new study. Upstate, only three out of 50 such claimants submit bills for acupuncture.
The number of fraudulent auto insurance claims in the New York City area has increased in the last three years, and claimants are "subsidizing" unscrupulous health care providers, a new report says.
About one in every five no-fault auto insurance claims closed in the New York City area in 2010 appears to have elements of fraud, and as many as one in three claims appears to be inflated, according to a new study from the Insurance Research Council.
Allstate Insurance Company said it has added another lawsuit to its list in an attempt to recoup claims it paid to allegedly fraudulent medical professionals.
Editorial by Sen. James Seward -- Without a doubt, our current civil justice system is in dire need of reform. As the former chair and current ranking minority member of the Senate Insurance Committee, I am well aware of the disastrous effect that New York's generous tort laws have had on the insurance industry. The state's tort laws have resulted in skyrocketing insurance premiums and, in some instances, difficulties finding coverage at all.
Health care costs related to car accidents increased three times faster than the overall medical costs in New York for the last five years, largely due to rampant fraud by medical providers, according to an analysis of car insurance claim costs by the Fraud Costs New York Coalition and the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCIAA).
As detailed in a lawsuit filed today, its sixth this year, Allstate Insurance Company seeks to prove that professional service corporations were actually owned and operated by a layperson, rather than by licensed physicians or medical professionals. Allstate is committed to fight insurance fraud in New York and has sought to recover damages totaling $9,899,093.56 during 2010.
A lawsuit filed today by Allstate Insurance Company details a no-fault scheme that included the submission of thousands of fraudulent charges to the company, using a series of medical professional corporations that were secretly owned and controlled by non-physicians. In the lawsuit, Allstate seeks to recover from the defendants more than $1.4 million in compensatory and treble damages under the federal RICO statute and New York common law as well as $1 million in punitive damages.
A recent news release from the Fraud Costs New York Coalition and the Property Casualty Insurers Association provides some new figures on a long-standing problem: medical fraud and its contribution to high car insurance rates.
With his testimony in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, Mr. George Vinarsky provided a rare peek into so-called no-fault medical mills, which treat supposed car accident victims for injuries they may or may not have, and bilk insurance companies with claims. The practice has long drawn the ire of prosecutors in New York. Rare is it, however, that someone who owns a clinic testifies publicly about the intricacies of the business.
Eighteen people were charged in a Medicare indictment that was part of a larger ring of 44 people who are accused of engaging in a variety of swindles, including bilking auto insurance companies by falsifying, staging or exaggerating the severity of fender-benders.
A coalition of New York insurers says blaming medical mills are driving up the cost of auto insurance, a trend that amounts to a "no-fault automobile insurance fraud crisis" in the state.
Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo announced criminal charges against seven medical professionals and a clinic receptionist for their roles in a fraudulent scheme in which tens of thousands of dollars in phony claims were submitted to insurance carriers.
FraudCostsNewYork.com is powered by I-ISSUES.COM