The number of no-fault insurance fraud cases have risen steadily in New York with 11,000 incidences reported already this year. Compared to last year this is a seven percent increase. The New York State Insurance Department is suggesting changes be made in required auto insurance coverage to hopefully eliminate the number of fraud cases. The changes will impact consumers in terms of the insurance requirements and the cost of auto insurance.

The Maryland Insurance Administration has a fraud division that is run by Carolyn Henneman. It is her division’s responsibility to process complaints indicating possible cases of all types of insurance fraud. The division recently published a report for the fiscal year just ending 6/30/09 and there was some interesting information in it.

Commissioner Steve Poizner of the California Department of Insurance alerted motorists earlier today of the dangers of deliberately-induced automobile collisions, perpetrated by those who seek to profit from auto insurance fraud.

More than 60% of all the cases of fraud reported to the California Department of Insurance have been related to automotive insurance. These fraudulent schemes would have resulted in over $182 million worth of total losses for California auto insurance providers, had they not been detected and reported.

The Association of British Insurers has announced recently that motor insurance fraud has taken a staggering leap this year due in large part to the credit crunch. Strapped for cash, drivers are turning to fraudulent claims as a way to get some much needed dollars. The risks associated with making a fraudulent insurance claim seems to be worth it for those drivers who report their vehicle damaged or even stolen.

The amount of these claims has jumped to 70% over the last four years which is alarming to industry experts. Largely due to a record amount of consumer debt and the lack of available credit lines this jump translates to 24,000 false claims from the 14,000 recorded four years ago.