Florida Finally Takes Legal Action To Combat Fraud

The state of Florida has finally been able to make some progress where it comes to auto insurance fraud. The State Senate finally passed a reform bill that will work to combat PIP or personal injury protection insurance fraud.
The fraud has cost insurers millions of dollars. Now, under the new laws acupuncture and massage therapy treatments will not be covered by auto insurance companies. People who are involved in an automobile accidents must go to a walk-in clinic or their local emergency room within seven days of the incident occurring.
Currently, there has been no time line specified for when this bill will actually take effect. It is important for these reforms to be implemented in order to deal with fraud. In Florida, many fake clinics have been set up offering various medical services such as massage therapy and acupuncture. Many fraudsters claim that they have whiplash or back injuries and say that they need these treatments when they do not. Many clinics that participate in auto insurance fraud were billing insurance companies for these services without performing them.
Insurance companies have had issues getting their state politicians to actually pass reforms. 2012 is an election year which is why the reform bill was most likely passed. Many Florida drivers are fed up with instances of PIP fraud because it is costing them money. Insurance premiums in the state need to go down. If the reforms can help to ease the fraud then policy holders can truly benefit.
Medical professionals and law enforcement officials really need to help to make sure that these reforms work. Automobile accident victims should be examined very carefully by medical professionals and all of the injuries should be well documented. Police officers should take witness statements immediately and take accident scene photographs.
They should also make sure that they take all of the relevant contact information and should run it to see if there have been any other accidents under the person’s name or driver’s license number. If there have been numerous accidents then this should be noted in the police report. This will signal a red flag to the auto insurance company so that they can investigate the driver and see if they are in fact going to try to commit PIP fraud or have in the past.
It is important for drivers to become educated on these new reforms. If you have been involved in an automobile accident then you should get examined by a doctor even if you do not feel ill at all. Many people end up developing concussions or other injuries days after an automobile accident has taken place.
Auto insurance companies will be more hesitant to cover medical expenses for injuries that have gone undocumented for more than a week. Drivers need to understand this and take the proper action after an accident.
It is important for politicians and auto insurers to continue working together to deal with PIP fraud. It is a problem that will take many years to solve and fully eliminate. These reforms are a good first step but people will exploit the loopholes if they can find them. Insurance fraud is no laughing matter so it is great that the State Senate took action and passed the reforms.