Washington State became the 41st state to adopt a coordinated approach to fraud fighting by opening a fraud bureau and adding a fraud prosecutor.
Adding an insurance fraud prosecutor ensures a steady focus on insurance swindles, said Howard Goldblatt, director of government affairs for the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud.
The new law also clarifies that insurers can be fraud victims, allowing insurers to receive restitution from schemes. Among the other key provisions is a mandate that requires insurance applications and claim forms to carry language warning of fraud.
“The new fraud bureau puts swindlers on notice that Washington is serious about combating insurance fraud and helping keep coverage affordable in the state,” Goldblatt said.
The new law takes effect July 1. It will be funded by the insurance department's operating budget. Insurers will not be assessed a fee to cover the unit's operating costs. States currently without insurance fraud bureaus include Oregon, Wyoming, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, Alabama, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Maine.
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