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Staged car accidents – fraudulent schemes designed to exploit insurance systems – are becoming more frequent on roadways across the U.S.
The rise in these events is becoming a significant concern in California, New York and Florida, according to the Insurance Information Institute.
Mark Friedlander, institute spokesperson, told FOX Business that “unscrupulous actors” are increasingly capitalizing on busy roadways to stage collisions and cash in on insurance payouts, particularly in high-traffic states.
“We’ve seen these types of auto fraud scams for many years. This is nothing new. But we’re seeing an uptick in many areas,” Friedlander said.
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“You typically see them on interstates in highly populated, highly congested areas of the country,” he added.
The institute’s evaluation of trade knowledge from 2022 and 2023 reveals a 14% improve in staged accidents on an annual foundation in New York and a 58% spike in New Jersey, among the many highest within the U.S.
Visitors on Interstate 110 in Los Angeles on Nov. 13, 2023. (Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg by way of / Getty Photographs)
California recorded the very best quantity of staged accidents in 2023 with 5,366 circumstances. New York ranked second with 1,729, adopted by Florida with 1,110.
Friedlander mentioned the development can be being exacerbated by the perpetrators’ capacity to evade prosecution.
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“While states are trying to crack down on these schemes, many of the fraudsters that operate in these states are not being caught,” he mentioned. As they “continue to be more brazen, more bold in causing stage accidents, it multiplies,” he added.
Friedlander mentioned the alleged staged automotive crash on the Belt Parkway in Queens, New York, which went viral after being caught on sprint digital camera footage, is an instance of “how brazen and bold these unscrupulous actors are” changing into.
Drivers sit in site visitors on southbound Interstate 5 through the afternoon commute heading into downtown San Diego on March 12, 2024. (Kevin Carter / Getty Photographs)
The sprint cam on the sufferer’s automotive reveals a silver Honda slicing her off earlier than it proceeded to cease brief and reverse into her.
A spokesperson for the New York Metropolis Police Division advised FOX Enterprise that detectives have interviewed the sufferer, and the investigation stays ongoing by the NYPD Felony Enterprise Investigation Unit’s Fraudulent Collision Investigation Squad.
Friedlander mentioned the state of affairs is rarer. Usually, the sufferer is sandwiched in between two vehicles which might be concerned within the scheme. One automotive will slam on its brakes within the entrance and one other automotive will hit the sufferer from behind.
Visitors on Interstate 95 in Baltimore, Maryland, on April 4, 2024. (Nathan Howard/Bloomberg by way of / Getty Photographs)
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In some circumstances, these criminals are additionally working “in collaboration with unscrupulous medical professionals like injury clinics, as well as unscrupulous attorneys that work with them to sue the drivers that are the victims,” he mentioned.
Whereas these staged accidents are costing insurers roughly $20 billion per 12 months, all drivers are pressured to “cover the losses incurred by insurance companies from these fraud schemes,” Friedlander mentioned.
He estimated that staged accidents price each U.S. driver $100 to $300 extra in annual auto insurance coverage premiums.
A latest report revealed by Insurify, an insurance coverage comparability purchasing web site, reveals the typical U.S. price for full auto insurance coverage surged to $2,329 within the first half of 2024. That marks a 15% improve from 2023 and a shocking 48% spike when put next with 2021.
