COLUMBIA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) – A national study found insurance fraud costs Americans more than $300 billion every year.
Experts say your premiums are getting more expensive because of it.
The National Insurance Crime Bureau, a nonprofit, reports South Carolina had the 15th most questionable insurance claims among all states last year, a disproportionately high number, given its population.
Experts say as carriers pay out fraudulent claims and expend resources to stop them, premiums go up, costing, on average, about $1,200 per adult in South Carolina every year.
The NICB says the top two types of insurance fraud they see here in South Carolina are staged vehicle accidents and medical fraud.
A new committee at the state house is taking a closer look at what lawmakers can do to lower insurance costs in South Carolina, which includes tackling fraud.
“This does work. When we combat insurance fraud, we’re preventing insurance premiums from increasing as a result of those fraudulent activities,” said Eric DiCampos, National Insurance Crime Bureau.
Currently, South Carolina has seven agents dedicated to investigating insurance fraud, a disproportionately low number compared to neighboring states.
SLED and the Department of Insurance say that’s not enough, and that this lack of resources is the top challenge keeping them from stopping more insurance fraud.
“Right now, South Carolina is a prime target because they can make a lot of money, we don’t have the resources to catch them, so they can make a lot with less risk of being caught here than in some of our neighboring states,” said Joshua Underwood, S.C. Department of Insurance, insurance fraud division.
