Questionable Auto Glass Repair Claims on the Rise

When auto glass insurance claims for auto glass repair rise 511 percent for the first three quarters of 2010 compared to the same period in 2009 and up 995 percent over the same period of 2008, then obviously there is some suspicion that something isn’t right. However, that is exactly what the National Insurance Crime Bureau has discovered in its latest report released recently. 

The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) is a non-profit group funded by about 1,000 property/casualty insurance companies. The organization releases a questionable claims report at various times throughout the year. The organization also tracks claims that its members refer for closer review and investigation for possible fraud. 

Something is definitely going on when statistics show that auto glass claims numbered 186 in the first three quarters of 2008 and 333 during the first quarter of 2009 but is up 2,036 during the first three quarters of 2010. Moreover, questionable claims for vehicles are up only 6  percent for the first three quarters of 2010 compared to the same period in 2009.

So one might conclude that fraud is taking place on a massive scale. However, a representative of NICB said that while questionable claims are up, they don’t always turn out to be fraudulent claims. That is because the member companies of the NICB subjectively determine a claim to be “questionable” and reports it to NICB. 

One could say that these companies know what is possibly fraudulent due to its experience confronting such things in their daily routine of doing business. One could also say that the NICB, the FBI or local police have a whole lot of investigating to do to confirm or deny these numbers.