Department of Insurance Hosts Insurance Fraud and Vehicle Theft Conference

An insurance fraud and vehicle theft conference, sponsored by the Louisiana Department of Insurance (LDI) and hosted by the Louisiana Automobile Theft and Insurance Fraud Prevention Authority (LATIFPA), will bring together national and local criminal, judicial, governmental and insurance experts to discuss a variety of insurance fraud and vehicle theft topics.  The conference will be held on Wednesday, October 13, at the Crowne Plaza in Baton Rouge. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m., and Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon and Lieutenant Allen Carpenter, retired from the Louisiana State Police Fraud Unit and now with Worley Catastrophe Response, will open the conference at 8:30 a.m. Commissioner Donelon will also make closing remarks at 4:15 p.m.

Dr. Sharon Tennyson, associate professor in the Department of Policy Analysis and Management of Cornell University, is the keynote luncheon speaker. Session topics are Prosecution of Insurance Fraud, Fraud Trends & State and National Legislation, Protecting Consumers from Insurance Fraud, Combating Vehicle Theft, and Anti-Fraud Task Force. There will also be several exhibitors displaying auto theft, insurance fraud, and identity theft products and services.

Anyone interested in attending should contact the Louisiana Department of Insurance at 225-219-0632. The registration form and agenda, along with hotel accommodation information, are listed on the department’s Web site at www.ldi.la.gov. All Louisiana resident licensed producers and adjusters who attend will be entitled to earn up to eight hours of continuing education credit.

Insurance fraud is the second largest white collar crime in America after tax evasion.  It costs insurers and consumers hundreds of billions of dollars a year, accounting for as much as 10 percent of insurance premiums. The average household spends $950 a year in additional premiums to cover the cost of insurance fraud in America. 

Anti-fraud efforts by the public, such as reporting insurance fraud; by insurance companies, such as developing and activating anti-fraud policies and procedures; and by government agencies, such as activities underway in LDI’s Fraud Section, are important ways to keep costs resulting from insurance fraud down.

The LDI Fraud Section investigates many types of insurance fraud, ranging from low-value individual cases to widespread corporate misconduct.  The Fraud Section received 1,970 reports of suspected fraud in 2009 with many resulting in arrests, convictions and recoupment of funds.  The public is encouraged to report suspected cases of insurance fraud on the LDI Web site at www.ldi.la.gov. 

Common types of fraud include fake or unlicensed insurers, disreputable insurance representatives and various types of consumer fraud including vehicle theft.  In part due to the work of LATIFPA, Louisiana succeeded in reducing its motor vehicle theft rates in 2009 over 2008 by 16.8 percent in four of Louisiana’s largest metropolitan areas according to the 2009 Preliminary FBI Uniform Crime Report with 4,614 vehicles stolen.