Insurance fraud is not a victimless crime. When someone scams an insurance company, honest hard working people like you and I see our premiums go up. Perpetrators of insurance fraud are stealing from us.

The Louisiana State Police put a stop to a lot of that fraud over the past few weeks. They have announced the arrests of thirty-four individuals, including four Acadiana residents, on suspicion of insurance fraud. Troopers say their investigation found these individuals involved in staged crashes, "jump-in" crashes, and falsifying documents.

Sgt. Nick Manale with Louisiana State Police told the Louisiana Radio Network about some of the incidents his department investigated. One involved a man who paid a friend to rent a truck and then stage a crash.

"He claimed injury for himself, for his minor child who was not even in the crash or nowhere near the crash scene at the time that it occurred.  And then, of course, brings all those forged documents and false claims to the insurance companies trying to collect a payment on that."

Estimates show that cases like this one amount to losses in the billions of  dollars for insurance companies across the nation. Those losses have to be made up by policy holders in the form of higher premiums. Sgt. Manale explains,

"However, these insurance fraud cases are affecting all of us.  They affect our insurance premiums.  It affects all of our insurance policies across the state."

Those who might think insurance fraud is an easy way to riches should think again. Not only are local and state police watching for fraud more closely but insurance companies have their own investigation teams too. If you suspect someone is perpetrating a fraud you should report that suspicion immediately to law enforcement.

 

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