NU Online News Service

Insurers are now able to file a single report to multiple state insurance departments through Insurance Services Office and the National Insurance Crime Bureau, it was announced.

The facility is available thanks to an agreement reached between ISO, NICB and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

According to the organizations, reports filed with the NICB/ISO Fraud Bureau Reporting Program will now also be filed with the NAIC Online Fraud Reporting System (OFRS).

Previously, reports were filed separately with NICB/ISO and state insurance departments, said Alan Haskins, director of government affairs for the NICB. If the suspected fraud crossed state lines, reports would have to be filed with each state insurance department individually.

Now, one report with the NICB/ISO will suffice, with that report going to the appropriate state insurance departments.

A statement by the NICB, NAIC and ISO notes that 47 jurisdictions are accepting the filings.

Haskins said the participating jurisdictions are Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and 45 states.

Not accepting the filings, he said, are New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Kentucky and Wisconsin.

New York and New Jersey, he said, have a "robust reporting system" and require reports to go through their Web sites.

He said Kentucky may have statutory issues to overcome, and in Rhode Island, fraud is generally reported through the Attorney General's Office.

Wisconsin, he continued, does not require companies to report suspected fraud to the department.

The NICB and ISO said they expect to provide the NAIC OFRS with approximately 80,000 reports of suspected fraud per year.

Haskins said the plan benefits insurers since the NICB/ISO reporting program now acts as a "one stop shop" for companies.

For states, he said the process is simplified as all referrals will be going to one place.

In a statement, Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger, NAIC Antifraud Task Force chair, said: "This agreement has been a high priority for the NAIC Antifraud Task Force over the last year. This agreement saves insurance companies and fraud investigators time and improves investigative resources for state fraud bureaus."

As a result, she said the NAIC is "already receiving twice as many fraud referrals from property and casualty insurers now that NICB/ISO members are providing reports to the NAIC OFRS system."