NCJ Number
124264
Date Published
1988
Length
8 pages
Annotation
The detection and investigation of insurance crime can be upgraded if both insurance companies and police agencies improve their methods of addressing the problem, including improved cooperation between police and insurance companies.
Abstract
The police can improve their response to insurance crime by training personnel to understand the insurance industry and the nature and consequences of insurance fraud. The establishment of a special police investigative unit can mobilize the resources and skills required to investigate insurance fraud. This can include the use of private professionals to supplement the skills of police personnel. Insurance companies should report to the police any information regarding a suspicious claim, even if the case is small. Insurance companies should have the right or duty to refuse payment of suspicious claims until the case has been thoroughly investigated. Cooperation between the police and insurance companies should be based upon a delineation of responsibilities in the investigation of an insurance case. Cooperation should include the systematic exchange of information through formal and informal contacts.