INSURANCE FRAUD

Are your insurance premiums getting higher & higher? Help Control Your Insurance Costs By Reporting Insurance Fraud

$1000.00  That's how much you pay every year in out-of-pocket costs as a result of insurance fraud.  It includes higher insurance premiums, higher costs of goods and services and higher taxes, according to the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud.  Consider this:

• Insurance Fraud could be a Fortune 500 Company if it were a business.

• More than 1 in 3 people believe it is "all right" to pad an insurance claim.

• Fraud could be as simple as misrepresenting facts on an application or inflating a claim.  Or, as serious as submitting claims for injuries or damage that never occurred or "staging" accidents.

• Americans incur the cost for fraud in every product and service we buy, over 85 billion a year.

• Most people think fraud is a victimless crime, but YOU ARE THE VICTIM.  Insurance fraud directly affects the amount you pay in insurance premiums and goods and services.

South Carolina Attorney General Charlie Condon's Insurance Fraud Division, in conjunction with the Professional Insurance Agents of South Carolina and the Insurance News Service, has established the Insurance Fraud Hotline, available 24 hours a day.

Under South Carolina Law, you MUST report insurance fraud if you have reason to believe someone has committed this crime.

If you suspect someone has committed any type of insurance fraud, call the South Carolina Insurance Fraud Hotline toll free.  You DO NOT have to reveal your identity.

1-888-95-FRAUD

SPONSORED BY:
Office of the Attorney General
The Professional Insurance Agents of South Carolina
The South Carolina Insurance News Service

  SEVEN COMMON TYPES OF INSURANCE FRAUD:

• UNDER-REPORTING on your auto insurance policy application the number of miles you drive.

• FAILING to report an accurate medical history when applying for health insurance.

• FAKING OR EXAGGERATING injuries to avoid work and draw workers' compensation payout.

• FALSIFYING OR OVERSTATING injuries in an auto accident to achieve a large settlement or award.

• STAGING automobile accidents which result in claims for non-existent injuries.

• FABRICATING relationships to draw life insurance benefits.

• EXAGGERATING the amount and value of items stolen from a home or business.

A Message From the Attorney General:

  As Attorney General of South Carolina, I am deeply concerned about insurance fraud, and its effect on the citizens and businesses of our state.  Auto, home and business insurance scams cost Americans more than $20 billion each year, and South Carolinians pay their share of the bill for these illegal activities.

I am committed to maintaining a strong stand against insurance fraud, and am particularly committed to aggressively investigating and prosecuting these cases.  The message must be clear:  Stealing from an insurance company is stealing from South Carolina consumers.

I hope you will join me in working to reduce the amount of insurance fraud in South Carolina, by reporting fraud at 1-888-95-FRAUD.

Charlie Condon
Attorney General