Insurance Fraud

With the economy in a recession and a lot of people struggling for money, its not wonder that insurance fraud has risen this year, according to the Nationial Insurance Crime Bureau (NCIB). They have reported that there has been a significant increase in suspicious car fires, commercial slips and falls, and hail damage related claims.

Auto insurance claims involving personal injury protection have increased. One of the main reasons is people are filling a car full of people and stopping short in front of another vehicle to be hit and fake the injuries. There has been a decrease in auto related claims involving body shops, non-pip related insurance claims, vehicle theft/damage, and ditching of vehicles this year. Which makes me question if that is due to not as many people carrying insurance on their vehicles and driving without insurance, which is up to more than 12% of drivers now.

Homeowners insurance claims on the other hand have risen. An increase in theft, arson, damage, and liability has risen since last year and probably due to people needing money and having personal property be damaged for replacement cost.

Auto Insurance – Uninsured Motorist

In every auto insurance policy there is uninsured motorist section, which can either be purchased at the same limits or lower than your bodily injury liability or rejected. You can also purchase stacked or non-stacked. Uninsured motorist is basically coverage that provides bodily injury coverage for accidents caused by hit-and-run driver or underinsured driver which occur when you or your family are driving a covered auto, or while you are a pedestrian. According to Insurance Research Council the amount of people driving with insurance is close to 12%! That percentage doesnt even count the amount of people who are underinsured with low liability limits. On an auto insurance policy uninsured motorist is not very expensive but definitely worth purchasing. For a free quote log on to Ballard-Insurance.com


About the author

The Ballard Insurance Agency is a full-service, family-owned and operated independent insurance agency, serving Brevard and surrounding counties in Florida since 1999. Our agency represents over 30 of the finest companies in the industry. No matter what type of insurance you need, we have the knowledge and experience you can trust. Our staff offers over 38 years of professional expertise and attentive personal service. Our agency’s primary mission is to take care of you, our clients.