Rampant car insurance fraud is moving, like a tropical undergrowth, from South Florida to Central Florida, causing accidents, injuries and unnecessary increases in the car insurance rates of all Floridians.
It must be stopped before the epidemic reaches Jacksonville.
In March, 19 scammers were arrested in a statewide sweep by the Florida Department of Financial Services.
The scammers have moved from South Florida, where enforcement is being focused, to Central Florida. Can Jacksonville be next?
The two most common types of insurance fraud:
- Faking it. Damaging cars at an offsite location, then reporting a collision at an intersection.
- Swoop and squat: Creating an accident on purpose, followed by faked injuries and fraudulent injury claims.
Also common are inflated insurance claims and false theft reports.
In many cases, organized crime is involved.
These cases can be intricate to investigate. Runners steer injured passengers to crooked doctors.
Let's stop the fraud statewide, but especially before it reaches Northeast Florida.