NAII and Progressive Host Auto Insurance Fraud Detection Course

The National Association of Independent Insurers (NAII) and the Progressive Insurance Company, a Cleveland-based insurance holding company, recently teamed up in the fight against auto insurance fraud, hosting, "Crash for Cash" on April 29, an auto insurance fraud detection course.

The course included twenty car crash demonstrations of common accidents that lead to fraudulent auto insurance claims, including rear-end collisions, side swipes and t-bones. The demonstrations showed the effect these accidents have on the vehicle and on the passengers inside.

"Auto insurance fraud accounts for billions of dollars every year," said David Smolensky, grass roots/public affairs coordinator for NAII. "Events such as 'Crash for Cash' give auto insurance professionals, especially those who are actually processing the claims, the opportunity to see what the perpetrators of fraud are doing. Equally important is the opportunity for the insurance industry to bring the seriousness and the costs resulting from fraud to the attention of the public through these demonstrations."

"We are seeing a greater frequency of injury claims as a result of low impact collisions," said Victor Politzi, Albany/Hudson Valley general manager for Progressive. "This training is intended to help claims representatives distinguish legitimate injuries from exaggerated and fraudulent injury claims. It's clear once you have had an opportunity to see these crashes, with the physical effects on the passengers in the car, that in most cases passengers are not hurt."

In many of the crash demonstrations, viewers were invited to sit in the vehicles during the demonstration to experience the physical effects first hand.

"In all of the crashes, it was obvious that the probability of any type of serious injury resulting was minimal," said Politzi. "In fact, a glass of water was put on the roof of one car as it was involved in a rear-end collision. Not one drop of water spilled. This was a clear example that the actual physical forces on the passengers in many of these common crashes do not result in serious injuries that require medical treatments totaling thousands of dollars."

Progressive intends to hold more "Crash for Cash" demonstrations as a means to educate its employees on how to identify fraudulent claims.