What are Special Investigations?
It is reported that aside from tax fraud, insurance fraud is the most practiced fraud in the world. The impact of insurance fraud is far-reaching. Fraud becomes particularly problematic because most insurance carriers can only estimate what they lose to claims that are actually discovered to be fraudulent [1]. Insurance fraud continues to be a growing concern, with estimates ranging from $80 billion to $110 billion a year. It has been estimated by the FBI that insurance fraud costs the average American family between $400 and $700 per year in the form of increased premium costs [1].
There are many areas where insurance fraud can occur. Common insurance fraud schemes include but are not limited to: vehicle insurance, property, and liability [1].
While many accident and injury claims are legitimate, there are also many occurrences where an individual is purposefully trying to commit insurance fraud. For example, an individual who was involved in a minor accident, who had pre-existing injuries, is now trying to claim that their injuries were due to the minor vehicle accident. Or a vehicle was involved in a hit-and-run collision, but the owner claims that they were out of town and that their vehicle was stolen (when in fact they were the one driving at the time of the accident). Or, an individual claims they were injured on your property (slip, trip, misstep, etc.), but the mechanism they describe for having caused the injury does not match the injury claimed – similar to the vehicle accident, this may suggest the individual is trying to “pin” a previously existing injury on the premise incident. The above simplified examples all have one red flag in common – the physical evidence is inconsistent with the injury/loss claimed by the insured. These are simplified examples to illustrate a point, but there are many more examples of insurance fraud.
If you suspect your matter may be insurance fraud, contact LISKE today.
Why LISKE?
The strength of LISKE value lies in the depth of our unique expert pool: diverse in backgrounds, education and professional experiences, forming the core LISKE team of forensic experts, powered by next generation technology.
Our forensic expert services span the accident and injury spectrum – liability assessment, forensic investigations, accident reconstruction, forensic expert reports, discovery and motions, preparation for mediation, arbitration, trial expert witness testimony, and special investigations.
LISKE has helped your competitors unlock value in the settlement of auto, property, and casualty disputes. Why not let us help you?
[1] https://www.acfe.com/uploadedfiles/acfe_website/content/documents/insurance-fraud-handbook.pdf