Coalition Against Insurance Fraud
The Coalition Against Insurance Fraud is a coalition of insurance organizations, consumers, government agencies and legislative bodies working to enact anti-fraud legislation, educate the public, and provide anti-fraud advice. They are also a resource where consumers can find scam warnings, learn where to report fraud, and how to protect themselves. The Coalition was founded in 1993 after several organizations reported a heavy rise in insurance fraud and a need to stop it. History. In 1993, insurance fraud investigators staged several bus crashes in New Jersey. The only passengers in the busses were fraud investigators . After the crash, they received over 100 claims from people who jumped on the bus after it crashed or simply drove by the scene and wanted to claim insurance money saying they were injured. In response to this problem, seventeen organizations formed The Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, contributing $500,000 to finance anti-fraud efforts. At the time, The Coalition estimated that auto fraud cost over $8 billion a year in overpaid claims. Since then, The Coalition has grown to include over 90 members, including GEICO, National Consumers League, First Acceptance Corp., Healthcare Insight, Property Casualty Insurers Assoc. of  America, SAS Institute, Thomson Reuters, Nationwide, and the Virginia State Police. Mission. The Coalition's main mission is to fight insurance fraud. The Coalition seeks to unite and empower private and public groups against fraud. Members work to control insurance costs, protect public safety, and reduce crime. Three main areas of activity are: Government Affairs Research Research. The Coalition has published several research studies over the past decade. Among them: Fraud Warnings. The Coalition issues scam alerts for common schemes, elaborating on variations and best measures for prevention and defense. Among the topics: