A bill cracking down on staged-accident scams breezed through a House subcommittee Wednesday, and a fleet of similar reforms is revving up.
House Bill 967 cleared the Insurance and Banking Subcommittee on a 13-2 bipartisan vote after just 45 minutes of discussion. It now heads to the Civil Justice Subcommittee.
The measure, along with companion Senate Bill 1694, cracks down on what insurers call "rampant" fraud involving the state's Personal Insurance Protection (no-fault) program.
Today's committee action shows that the Legislature has recognized the urgent need for PIP reform in our state and is committed to passing comprehensive legislation to provide insurers with the tools to combat PIP fraud statewide, said William Stander, assistant vice president of the Property Casualty Insurers Association and regional manager for Florida.
The reform measure by Rep. Mike Horner, R-Kissimmee, would expand investigations, encourage arbitration and cap lawyers' fees. The Senate's companion bill is carried by Sen. Garrett Richter, R-Naples.
Two related bills -- SB 1930 and HB 1411 -- aim to implement additional legal reforms. Those bills are sponsored by Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, and Rep. Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton.
SB 1930 would increase penalties for medical providers who knowingly submit bogus applications for clinics that treat auto crash victims; require responding law enforcement to list names and addresses of all passengers involved in a crash; and provide insurers more time to investigate suspicious claims and vet honest claims for payment.
HB 1411 would forbid medical providers to seek payments from policyholders when an insurer denies the providers claim because of suspected fraud; provide discounts for consumers who use honest, insurer-recommended clinics; and create a state authority to fund auto-fraud investigations and prosecutions without raising taxes.
At a Wednesday afternoon press conference, Bogdanoff said, "Floridians are paying what amounts to a 'fraud tax' on top of their car insurance every year and will continue to do so unless we close the loopholes in the system. Floridians also deserve protections to prevent them from becoming victims in PIP fraud."
She said PIP was designed to keep the legal system out of vehicle accidents and give victims some compensation. "But we've created a boutique industry"for unscrupulous swindlers gaming the system.
Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, also speaking at the press conference, said, "Florida is No. 1 in the nation in questionable auto accidents that lead to claims. ... I say that's No. 1 in accidents that are pure fraud."
While trial lawyers oppose many of the proposals, the insurance industry says Floridians are hurt by a spate of staged auto accidents and faked medical claims that drive up premium costs on law-abiding motorists.
The industry estimates that PIP fraud costs Floridians $1 billion a year in the form of higher insurance rates.
House Bill 967 will ultimately help insurers crack down on criminals who continue to keep Florida at the top of the list for the highest number of questionable, or staged, auto accidents of any other state in the country," Stander said.
Four of the 10 U.S. cities with the highest rates of questionable claims are Miami, Tampa, Orlando and Hialeah, Stander reported.
Earlier this month, Atwater and Miami-Dade County State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle announced the arrest of 17 individuals and warrants for eight more in a raid of Miami clinics allegedly involved in recruiting staged accidents. And at Wednesday's press conference Atwater said that in his 61 days in office, the state has made 109 arrests for PIP fraud.
Organizers of staged accidents direct people to cronies' clinics for "treatment" of faked injuries. Those clinics bill insurance companies for medical services never provided.
"Based on the latest data available, Florida motorists as a group pay the second highest auto liability insurance premiums in the nation. The 2008 average annual liability premium is $736, which is 56 percent higher than the national mean of $471," Stander said.
Stander said passage of reform legislation doesn't guarantee future rate reductions, but said "experience" suggests that causative effects go both ways.
"Rates have gone up because of fraud. Rates follow the costs," he said.
The Florida Chamber of Commerce and Associated Industries of Florida also support the reform legislation.
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Contact Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 801-5341.
Contact Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
