Drastic times call for drastic measures. Among those bashed by the lingering U.S. economic downturn, homeowners, insurance brokers and motorists alike are turning more and to insurance crimes for a personal bail-out. But state fraud investigators, suffering stiffer budgets are facing equally drastic cuts in resources to fight the fraud.
According to study partially funded by the nation's largest insurance companies --- fraud fighting bureaus are seeing a significant spike in cases.
"The troubled economic climate confronts many fraud investigators with the severest challenge they've faced in years. But a positive outcome could be greater efficiency in combating schemes as fraud bureaus find better ways to fight crime with the resources they do have," says Dennis Jay, the coalition's executive director.
Surprisingly, agents and brokerages are considered the biggest offenders, accounting for the most instances of insurance fraud in the past year. Seven of 10 fraud bureaus report a spike in agent cases, according to the coalition. Nearly 40 percent of fraud bureaus say their producer caseload was much higher. The survey of 37 state fraud bureau directors was conducted last October.
After insurance agents, anxious drivers continued ditching unwanted vehicles for insurance payouts in one of the defining fraud trends of the troubled economy. Seven of 10 fraud bureaus report more vehicle abandonment and vandalism cases, the coalition's survey shows.
More homeowners literally are burning up for insurance payouts as well. Nearly two thirds of fraud bureaus report increased home arson cases. This uptick is generally isolated to regional or local hotspots, the coalition's survey notes.
Business owners struggling to stay afloat are resorting to insurance-related crimes with 60 percent of state fraud bureaus reporting bogus liability claims. "Reports of increases in slip-and-fall claims from insurers and self-insurers-especially grocers, department stores and restaurants-began surfacing in early 2009 and seem to have continued," the coalition's survey says.
Bogus health plans are spreading rapidly around the U.S. as well, taking advantage of the large market of uninsured Americans. Most fraud bureaus report a spike in fake health plans, with nearly 40 percent saying their caseload was much higher due to health insurance misrepresentation.
Prescription drug abusers also are on the loose. More than 60 percent of fraud bureaus report more cases involving diversion of painkillers and other addictive prescription drugs such as painkillers. Drug diversion has spread with alarming speed around the U.S. in recent years, with insurers paying billions of dollars for illicit prescriptions.
Many fraud bureaus are being forced to manage this spreading crime trend with smaller budgets and staff, the coalition's survey reveals.
Some 63 percent of fraud investigators report lower budgets for 2009. "This is somewhat surprising, given that a majority of the fraud bureaus were created with dedicated funding, specifically assessments on insurers," the survey notes.
Nearly a quarter of state fraud teams also lost staff positions this year, and a third of these agencies were forced to leave vacant positions unfilled.
To most people, health insurance is a card with numbers you take to the doctor's office and a little booklet of paper that lives in your filing cabinet, closet or dusty corner of your home. To McKinley, health insurance and the historical reforms that go along with the inequality of healthcare in America are topics of healthy discussion, worthy of further study and catalysts for education and action.
McKinley moved to South Florida after directing corporate communications and marketing strategy for several FORTUNE 500 companies and public relations agencies. A founder of Communicatia, Ink (an independent communications company he founded while working as a business reporter and newscaster in Nashville), McKinely is an emerging subject matter expert on health insurance and regulatory issues.
Filed under Health Insurance by on Jul 9th, 2010. Comment. 
The general arguments concerning the bailout have gone something along the lines of:
Anti Bailout : "The taxpayers should not have to foot a 700 billion dollar bill to bail out Wall Street"
Pro Bailout : "But if taxpayers do not bail out Wall Street the economy will fall apart and those same taxpayers will be hurt"
If we could be sure the bailout would work the second argument has some merit. While the bailout will certainly help the banks, the problem is we have almost no guarantee the bailout will help the real estate market and the general economy.
First let's look at some recent history of how the Fed has tried to help the troubled real estate market. The Fed usually attempts to lower mortgage interest rates to help the real estate market. By lowering mortgage rates houses become more attractive to buyers. In addition, with lower mortgage rates home buyers can buy more expensive houses with the same monthly payment.
Therefore lower rates can help stop falling home prices. So it was not surprising in early 2008 the Fed cut the Fed rate. In normal markets lowering the Fed rate helps banks and causes them to lower mortgage interest rates. And following the Fed cut mortgage rates dropped to 5.5 for a period of time. If they had stayed down we might have averted some of the problems with the current housing crisis. But instead a few weeks later rates had jumped backed up to 6.2. Basically banks said thanks for the lower fed rates but we are not going to alter our mortgage rates. In fact, over the next few months mortgage rates rose all the way to 6.6. The next big move was acquiring Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. This was one of the largest government takeovers in US history. The move was risky because the government was providing insurance for trillions in loans. And it initially had a positive effect on the housing market. But a few weeks later AIG ran into financial problems. This dominated the news cycle. It was almost as if the government takeover of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae never happened.
So the previous moves the federal government has made to stop the financial crisis have not worked. Should the 700 billion dollar bailout be different? It could certainly help the housing markets. But it might not. Lets look at why.
One of the benefits of the 700 billion dollar bailout has nothing to do with banks. It has more to do with perception on Main Street. The hope is that the bailout will restore confidence in the real estate market on Main Street.
In politics people often talk about news cycles covering up the last news cycle. Basically the last piece of news stays in people's minds until the next piece of news comes along. The Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac news cycle (and the billions the government will spend on it) only lasted until the next piece of news, which was about a week. While the 700 billion dollar bailout should restore some confidence in the real estate market, that confidence might only last until the next piece of news. And with things happening so quickly that news cycle might not last very long and given the current market the next piece of news will probably be negative.
The other benefit of the 700 billion dollar bailout is that the government is hoping to influence banks to start lending again. The idea is that by taking billions in toxic loans off the books for banks they will start lending again. The problem is that their is no guarantee this will happen. In fact, when the Fed lowered rates banks said thanks but decided that prospects for the housing market looked negative and continued to add restrictions to lending. In a similar fashion banks could say thanks for the 700 billion but we continue to see negative prospects in the housing market and therefore we will continue to have strict lending practices. But thanks for the 700 billion taxpayers.
Escapeso real estate is a small brokerage in Austin Texas. Their realtors works with clients looking for Austin real estate. Their site offers a free search of the Austin MLS
Filed under Home Insurance by on Jun 8th, 2010. Comment.
If you have made an offer on a home, and if you are heading towards the closing date, you may be wondering what is involved in the title insurance underwriting process that will be ongoing in advance of the closing date. Through this article you are provided with the information that you need to know and understand when it comes to making the purchase of Tampa real estate.
The first step that occurs in the title insurance underwriting process is the engagement of the title insurance company in the first instance. In many instances, the home mortgage lender will engage the title insurance company as that entity will have a great deal at risk if it issues a loan that is tied to a piece of property that ends up having a defective or clouded title. On the other hand, there are instances when the seller will contact the title insurance company in the first instance. The buyer can even be the person that initiates the underwriting process in the first instance.
At this juncture, a title insurance underwriter actually will do hands on research to make certain that there are no liens or clouds on the title. This process is undertaken in most cases at the local county courthouse in the office of the register of deeds.
The register of deeds' office will contain the original copies of deeds and encumbrances and releases that have been placed or removed from a particular deed. In this way, by taking a direct look at these vital, crucial documents, the investigator or underwriter will be able to ascertain whether or not there are any encumbrances, liens or defects to the title.
When you purchase Tampa real estate - or real estate anywhere for that matter - it is vital that you be able to obtain clear title with no encumbrances or defects. If the underwriter or investigator does find problems with the title, he or she will then embark on a course to clear the title. This generally involves making sure that a previously satisfied lien on the property be released. (The most common problem is a lien that has been satisfied but that the release of which has been overlooked for one reason or another.)
Ultimately, when the research has been concluded - technically called a title search - and when any problems have been dealt with, the title insurance company will issue a green light and a title insurance policy that will clear the way for closing. Fortunately, in the vast majority of cases there are no problems associated with the title. Moreover, if a problem is discovered, it can be dealt with in the advance of the scheduled closing doubt.
In those isolated instances when this cannot occur, when the title defect cannot be rectified before the scheduled closing date, the general practice simply is to reschedule the closing date a bit farther down the road. The typical real estate sales contract actually may provide for such a possibility. Of course, it is incumbent upon the seller to be able to convey clear title in order to the sale of the real estate to be consummated and the closing to be held in the end.
Lance Mohr is a full time licensed broker associate with Keller Williams Realty. He has over 10 years of experience helping families buy and sell real estate, as well is being a real estate investor. If you have any questions about the Tampa Real Estate or New Tampa real estate market please visit my website at http://www.tampa2enjoy.com
Filed under Home Insurance by on Jun 6th, 2010. Comment.