Auto Insurance Fraud

From KPSP Local 2 News

California's Insurance Commissioner is warning drivers to be on alert for scam artists who stage auto collisions. It's a costly and potentially form of auto insurance fraud. One such scam, nicknamed the swoop and squat happens when two or three vehicles work as a team, to set up an "accident." The lead car cuts the victim off, and another car pulls up alongside the victim, so he/she has no choice but to rear-end the scam artist.

Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner says even if no one gets hurt, insurance fraud hurts the consumer, in the form of higher auto insurance rates. He says, "Insurance fraud is like a $500 tax on every man, woman and child in California." Poizner says auto insurance fraud is a major part of the problem. The California Department of Insurance investigated 14,565 suspected automobile insurance fraud cases in 2006 and 2007.