Florida Governor Witnesses Examples of Insurance Fraud

22.02.12

Cars collided in full view of Florida’s highest ranking officials at the Pat Thomas Law Enforcement Academy, showcasing the dangerous crimes of insurance fraud through staged accidents.

Florida continues to lead the nation in staged accidents and abuse of the Personal Injury Protection (PIP) system . The training exercise put on by the Florida Highway Patrol was done in an effort to educate Floridians on the problem of staged accident fraud.

“Viewing how easy it is to fake an auto accident is sickening,” Governor Rick Scott said at a news conference after the demonstrations. “If there was any shred of doubt left in any legislator’s mind, this exercise has surely demonstrated beyond a doubt that PIP reform is critical to protect Florida drivers from these dangerous staged car accidents and from rate increases caused by fraud.”

The Florida Highway Patrol and the Coalition to ‘Put the Brakes on Accident Fraud’ hosted the event that involved three separate types of fraud. The crashes demonstrated – ‘Drive Down,’ ‘Panic Stop,’ and the ‘Swoop and Squat’ – are the most widely recognized accidents used by criminal networks to fraudulently bill insurance companies with claims for non-existent injuries. Such crimes drive up the cost of insurance for all Florida drivers.

Source: ClaimsJournal.com