More drivers on the road during summer months means more car crashes, but not all of them may be for real.
More than 800 insurance claims in Sacramento County in the fiscal year ended June 30 are suspect and may have involved staged collisions, Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced Thursday. The 802 suspected fraudulent claims in 2007-08 is down from 856 a year earlier, but up from 788 in 2005-06, the state insurance regulator announced.
This translates to potential losses of $5.6 million in the last fiscal year alone.
Statewide, 14,623 out of 23,734 — 61 percent — of the insurance fraud referrals received by the state agency in the last fiscal year were suspected automobile insurance fraud.
People who create pre-planned accidents are known as “stagers.” They look for high-value targets such as commercial vehicles, expensive luxury cars or vehicles owned by cities or counties. They are considered high value because of the virtual guarantee of insurance coverage.
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