Miami, known as a prime location for sun and fun, is also the top city in the nation for staged accident insurance fraud, an industry group announced today.
The National Insurance Crime Bureau, in releasing its list of the top-10 cities ranked by accident fraud activity, said faked auto crashes are a form of crime that is "sweeping the nation."
NICB noted that, while it identified only 10 cities, staged accidents and related insurance fraud schemes occur in every state in the nation. The 10 cities ranked from most to least activity are:
1. Miami
2. Los Angeles
3. Houston
4. Chicago
5. Philadelphia
6. Tampa
7. Cleveland
8. Orlando
9. New York
10. Boston
Staged or "caused" accidents, NICB said, are but one of the varieties of fraud committed daily around the country, contributing to the $30 billion lost annually from such illegal activities. The cost of this activity, according to NICB, is ultimately recovered through increased premiums.
Alvaro Zabaleta, a Miami-Dade police spokesman, said it was hard to agree or disagree with the NICB findings since the department does not keep specific statistics on auto accident fraud. He said the department no longer investigates accident fraud and refers suspected cases to state authorities and NICB.
The list of city rankings, NICB said, was derived from a review of all active NICB investigative files which identified staged or caused accidents as the primary fraudulent activity.
The crime bureau noted that the total number of NICB fraud investigations involving staged or caused accidents as a related activity is much greater, as many cases are routinely categorized as medical fraud or other fraud investigations.
Robert Bryant, president and chief executive officer of NICB, said his organization has investigators and analysts working around the country with their law enforcement and insurance industry counterparts to detect, prevent and prosecute auto accident fraud.
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