The National Insurance Crime Bureau, more popularly called the NICB, recently released information regarding its figures on auto glass claims this year. Apparently, the figure for questionable auto glass claims for the first half of this year has gone down over sixty percent from the figure for last year’s first half. To be precise, this year’s first half had the NICB receiving 495 questionable claims for auto glass in total—a sharp drop from last year’s first half, which was at a staggering 1498 questionable claims.
The figure for 2010 is actually remarkably high, even compared to other years. Indeed, the first half figure for the year preceding it was even lower than this year’s, being at a remarkable 236 questionable claims in total. A questionable claim as defined by the Bureau, by the way, is a claim wherein an insurance company that happens to be a member of the NICB refers or reports to the Bureau and requests that resources be dedicated to investigating the claim. The investigation may be started only if the claim has been found to contain at least one possible sign of fraud, as defined by the Bureau’s documents and procedures.
The NICB keeps an eye on these figures in line with its specific mission as an organization. Although the NICB is a non-profit organization, its purpose can easily be understood to profit a great many people, as it was formed to facilitate procedures of identification, investigation, detection, and even the very prosecution of those involved in matters of insurance crime.
Obviously, one of the most popular crimes in the category would be insurance fraud. Indeed, there have been quite a few remarkable cases of insurance fraud with auto glass repair and replacement only lately, with several auto glass repair companies supposedly installing aftermarket or still fairly cheap OEM windshields and auto glass replacements on clients’ cars, then submitting bills to insurers that go far above the price of the actual materials used in replacement. At least one of the incidents resolved only this year had one auto glass replacement owner sending bills to insurers for $300-worth replacements to the tune of a whopping $1000—a shocking inflation, to say the least.
Hence, the NICB’s existence and actions are only to be expected. At the moment, the NICB is actually supported by around a thousand property and casualty insurance firms and is also working in tandem with law enforcement authorities in order to limit and punish fraud crimes wherever possible. The statistics on the auto glass claims over the years are only the beginning: the NICB performs various other studies and monitoring research projects that may be used by insurers and law enforcers in the fight against insurance fraud.
