Bill to Curb Staged Accidents Introduced in Senate

The manufacture trades person travel retired to enactment the latest effort connected Capitol Hill to thwart staged accidents.

Sen. Ashley Moody connected July 22 introduced the Staged Accident Fraud Prevention Act. About a twelvemonth ago, Representatives Mike Collins and Brandon Gill unveiled a companion measure successful the House.

“Every day, staged accidents and fraudulent schemes enactment guiltless lives astatine hazard and rise costs for each American. The Staged Accident Fraud Prevention Act volition assistance coordinate instrumentality enforcement successful combatting these blase transgression rings and bring the value of national instrumentality to stopping them,” said Jimi Grande, elder vice president of national and governmental affairs for the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, successful Moody’s property merchandise announcing the measure.

Related: Viewpoint: Rampant Fraud successful Staged Accidents

The American Property Casualty Insurance Association besides commended Moody, and urged Congress to beforehand the legislation.

“Sophisticated ‘crash-for-cash’ rings intentionally orchestrate postulation collisions to exploit no-fault security systems, inflate spot damage, and record fraudulent claims,” said Sam Whitfield, APCIA’s elder vice president of national authorities relations and governmental engagement. “These schemes enactment guiltless motorists and motortruck drivers astatine hazard portion driving up security costs for everyone. Strong enforcement tools are indispensable to deter organized fraud, amended roadway safety, and support families from bearing the costs of transgression activity.”

The projected authorities ups penalties and fines for those caught being progressive successful oregon orchestrating staged accidents.

“Unfortunately, determination are crazed and unsafe fraudsters retired determination who would alternatively enactment people’s lives successful information for a speedy payday alternatively of making an honorable surviving putting successful a hard day’s work,” said Moody, of Florida. “Anyone who stages oregon helps signifier an mishap with a commercialized centrifugal conveyance endangers people’s lives and livelihoods. On apical of that, these stunts tally up security premiums for everyone. Unacceptable. This authorities sends a wide message: if you bash this, you volition beryllium prosecuted.”

Some states person attempted to rein successful stage-accident fraud with legislation. Within a betterment measure out of Georgia, radical progressive successful making claims for staged accidents would look fines of up to $100,000. New York’s fund bill included car reforms, including caller connection allowing prosecutors to question transgression penalties against immoderate idiosyncratic liable for organizing a staged accident, not conscionable the peculiar idiosyncratic down the wheel.

The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America said the national measure would “crack down connected staged accidents that endanger motorists, disrupt proviso chains and substance suit abuse.

“This commonsense measurement volition assistance deter security fraud, trim unnecessary litigation costs and easiness the unit of rising security premiums connected liable commercialized operators and consumers nationwide,” said Big ‘I’ elder vice president of national authorities affairs, Nathan Riedel.

Topics Politics