Florida’s battle against fraud in the no fault auto insurance sector has felt like a losing battle over the last while, as one change to the regulations simply leads to a new form of fraud.
There have been anti-fraud provisions made by the legislature in 2002, 2003, and 2007 following a grand jury fraud and abuse report in 2000. Unfortunately, none of these attempts to stop the fraud have made a dent in the cost of personal injury protection.
According to the Coalition for Auto-Insurance Reform president, Peter Kinzler, there has been somewhat of a sequence “in which you have some relief when the legislature acts, then more loopholes, more abuse, and again back to the legislative effort.” That organization was the co-author of a paper about the no-fault system in the state.
Kinzler went on to say that the failure to be able to get the fraud under control and the growing use of the abuse of the system is “very disappointing”.
Florida has a greater buildup of claims than other states in the country. It also has larger provider utilization. This, regardless of the fact that the personal injury protection (PIP) insurance benefit of $10,000, which is significantly lower than other states with no-fault insurance, such as New Jersey or New York.
There are currently unlimited medical benefits under the personal injury protection insurance in Michigan, however, there has been legislation introduced in that state for altering that regulation.
The lawmakers in Florida have had support from both consumer groups and the insurance industry itself, but they have yet to be able to pass legislation that will curb the abuse and fraud of its no-fault system. However, as elected officials prepare for the new legislative session’s start, there have been calls yet again for repairs to the damaged system.
