The Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association (MCCA) has just announced that there will be an increase of $30 per vehicle to the auto insurance rates paid by drivers in the state starting on July 1, 2012, as per the new rate for 2012-13. This will raise the average premium by 21 percent, making it $175. Premiums undergo an annual adjustment in Michigan in order to cover the claims that are made under the state’s no-fault insurance law’s unlimited lifetime medical benefits. The results of the assessment are applied to each car…
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New York insurance regulators and federal authorities claim victory over insurance fraud syndicate
Auto insurance fraud has been a major problem in the state of New York. For years, regulators and lawmakers have been working to combat fraud throughout the state, but it has been a difficult challenge to overcome. This week, regulators have claimed a major victory as state and federal authorities dismantled a massive auto insurance fraud ring. Regulators are calling it the largest insurance fraud syndicate that focused almost exclusively on exploiting New York’s no-fault insurance laws. The crime ring is comprised of 36 people in total. Ten doctors and…
Read MoreFlorida lawmakers attempting to compromise over reforms to PIP
The Florida legislature is facing a debate over to strikingly different proposals that have been made to reform the no-fault auto insurance system in the state – also known as personal injury protection (PIP) – but the top lawmakers are hoping that it will be possible to reach a compromise. One of the primary issues of this legislative session – the extensive auto insurance fraud experienced in the state – was temporarily derailed by massage therapists who had been lobbying the topic. On Tuesday, the Senate Budget Committee held off…
Read MoreFlorida legislators come face to face with staged accidents
Florida continues to lead the U.S. in auto insurance fraud, a fact that state lawmakers have been working to change. Staged auto accidents are presenting the state, and its insurance industry, with significant problems. Those abusing the state’s Personal Injury Protection (PIP) system, which provides drivers with no-fault auto insurance policies, cause insurers to raise rates on coverage in an effort to recovery from losses. Thus far, Florida legislators have been divided on how to solve the problem. That is until they were shown how easy it was for drivers…
Read MoreFlorida pushes ahead with reforms to personal injury protection insurance laws
The Florida Legislature is moving ahead with plans to reform the state’s mandatory personal injury protection (PIP) insurance rules. Florida lawmakers and insurance companies have been battling a rampant outbreak of fraud throughout the state. Insurers claim that the fraud stems from the state’s regulations which require all drivers to have PIP coverage. The coverage is comprised of no-fault policies, which require insurers to pay claims whether a policyholder is at fault in an accident or not. This week, the Civil Justice Subcommittee approved HB 119, the bill that will…
Read MoreCoalition Protecting Auto No Fault seeks to make Michigan car insurance information public
The Coalition Protecting Auto No Fault (CPAN), a Lansing-based group, has filed a lawsuit against the insurance system in Michigan at the Ingham County Circuit Court, with the intention of forcing the insurance industry to report the data it collects regarding health and accidents. Officials with the Coalition are working to alter the current insurance system through a proposal of two bills which was made in November and which has been supported by insurance companies. They are seeking to have information from the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association (MCCA) – a…
Read MoreGovernor Rick Scott addresses insurance fraud issue in Florida
Governor Rick Scott spoke in his state of the state address about the importance of reforms to Florida’s no fault auto insurance system, aimed to significantly reduce the fraud abuse which is currently rampant within it. According to Scott, the cost of fraud to the people in the state is an estimated $900 million. In his address, he said that “If we do not act, the Office of Insurance Regulation predicts that costs for consumers will continue to spiral out of control.” He also claimed that the premiums that are…
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