Florida Senator Ellyn Bogdanoff and State Representative Jim Boyd Introduce No-Fault Fraud Reduction Bills at Media Conference Today
Mar 16, 2011
During a media conference held at Florida’s Capitol today, March 16, 2011, Senator Ellyn Bogdanoff (R-Ft. Lauderdale) and State Representative Jim Boyd (R-Manatee) introduced two similar bills, SB 1930 and HB 1411, which they said are designed to curtail fraudulent activities related to Personal Injury Protection (“PIP”)/No-Fault insurance fraud, a problem the legislators explained is widespread throughout the State.
Senator Bogdanoff and Representative Boyd were joined today by Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater. Together, they outlined the anti-fraud measures contained within the legislation, which include stiffer penalties for “unscrupulous swindlers gaming the system,” as well as provide law enforcement with more tools to fight PIP fraud and help protect consumers from staged auto accidents.
“Floridians are paying what amounts to a ‘fraud tax’ on top of their car insurance every year, and will continue to do so unless we close loopholes in the system,” said Senator Bogdanoff. “Floridians also deserve protections to prevent them from becoming victims in PIP fraud.”
The legislators also reviewed consumer-friendly anti-fraud reforms they said are contained within the bills:
- Increases penalties for medical providers who knowingly submit bogus applications for clinics that treat auto crash victims;
- Requires responding law enforcement to list names and addresses of all passengers involved in a crash; and
- Provides insurers more time to investigate suspicious claims and evaluate honest claims for payment.
“We take PIP Fraud very seriously because it costs every taxpayer. We need to ensure bad actors cannot continue to take advantage of hard-working Floridians,” said Representative Boyd. “Our efforts will also address one of the root causes of rising auto insurance premiums: unscrupulous health providers, attorneys and individuals working in fraud rings to pad their pockets.”
- Forbids medical providers to seek payments from policyholders when an insurer denies the provider’s claim because of suspected fraud;
- Provides discounts for consumers who use honest, insurer-recommended clinics;
- Creates a state authority under the CFO to fund auto-fraud investigations and prosecutions without raising taxes.
According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, Florida leads the U.S. in questionable claims involving staged crashes. Tampa, Miami and Orlando rank among the top five cities for suspected staged accidents.
“When I took office in January, I put the word out to Florida’s PIP fraud scammers that we would be coming after them, and since January, our insurance fraud detectives have made more than 100 PIP fraud arrests,” said CFO Atwater. “I am serious about putting these crooks behind bars and eager to implement reforms that will help reduce the fraud in our auto insurance market that is costing Floridians hundreds of dollars a year in increased premiums.”
Also on hand at today’s news conference were members of the Sunshine Alliance to Erase Fraud, a group formed in October 2010 to advocate for No-Fault reforms. Co-chaired by Florida consumer advocate Walter Dartland, the Sunshine Alliance consists of other consumer advocates, insurers and law enforcement.
Should you have any questions or comments, please contact Colodny Fass.