Stowe thought she was getting a good deal– paying hundreds less for coverage for her and her husband. She checked out AIM’s website and membership materials and moved forward with her purchase. Her premium was more than $400 a month, but then Stowe’d doctor told her all of her medical bills were being denied by her insurance company. “It was so frustrating because I owed thousands of dollars, plus all of those monthly premiums my boss had reimbursed me for,” Stowe told WBTV.

WBTV offered some tips to help others from going through what Stowe went through. Their tips include:

• Always remember that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
• Deal only with licensed agents and companies.
• If you have any doubt, call your state’s Department of Insurance, Consumer Services Division.
• If the agent you are dealing with starts becoming vague or hard to reach, consider canceling.
• Do NOT sign any blank application or claims forms.
• NEVER pay premiums in cash.
• Keep all your records and proof of payments.
• You can always call your insurance company (the company who has the policy) to confirm your policy exists and is what you think it is.

Some scams to look out for when it comes to insurance include:

• Companies that try to look and act like licensed insurance companies when they’re not. They offer low rates regardless of your health history, but then claims are either paid slowly or not paid at all. These companies typically operate under different names.
• Web sites that look like companies you are familiar with, but that are actually stealing your information.
• Pyramid schemes where insurance companies offer incentives for paying a membership fee or recruiting more members.

Insurance Company May Have Scammed Thousands is a post from: Peppercoin Insurance

Authorities say 50-year-old Sushil Sheth pleaded guilty a year ago to one count of health care fraud, and received his sentence this week. He’ll begin serving a five year prison term in two months. The fraud happened between January 2002 and July 2007. In June 2007, the Associated Press says that federal agents seized more than 600 uncashed checks from insurance companies totaling more than $6.7 million.

The Chicago Tribune reported that Sheth “lied thousands of times to Medicare and other insurers in order to receive millions of dollars he did not earn for patients he never treated,” according to a statement released by the  U.S. attorney’s office. According to the Chicago Tribune, Sheth stole patient information from three unnamed hospitals and used it to bill Medicare and other insurance companies for services he never performed and patients he never treated.

Doctor Accused Of Lying To Medicare Thousands Of Times is a post from: Peppercoin Insurance

Authorities say Morris pleaded guilty to his involvement in 44 fake car accidents in order to collect insurance money. The judge also ordered Morris to repay about $440,000 to 17 different insurance companies that Morris scammed. The insurance companies include AIG, Allstate, Geico, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, Progressive, and State Farm, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. While Morris was at the head of the insurance fraud operation, officers say Philadelphia police officers Deshane Riggins and Drexel Reid Jr. were a part of it too. Riggins wrote fake accident reports for Morris, according to reports.

For a period of two years, from 2004 to 2006, Morris lead a fraud ring that included at least 268 relatives, friends and acquaintences. The District Attorney’s Office says Morris orchestrated the submission of 187 fake insurance claims. Officials say each phony accident usually involved two vehicles with three passengers in each car so that six claims were generated. So far, nearly 100 arrests have been made, but more could be on the way.

According KYW, the assistant district attorney says Morris’ friends and relatives would claim they were injured in accidents that never happened. “Mr. Wallace Morris was a co-conspirator in a large insurance fraud scheme totalling in 44 car accidents, 115- arrests, over $1-million loss to 17 insurance companies,” Linda Montag told KYW. The judge in the case also mentioned the irony in the fact that Morris stated his transportation company went out of business because of high insurance costs.

Investigators Catch Auto Insurance Fraud Ring is a post from: Peppercoin Insurance

According to newspaper reports, Highmark Casualty Insurance Co has paid Gamble nearly $23,000 in disability benefits and another $4000 in medical expenses. The company received a tip and started investigating. During the investigation, the company was able to get video of Gamble working as a dancer. She has been charged with two counts of workers compensation insurance fraud, a felony charge.

Here are some statistics on insurance fraud from the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud:

• Nearly one of four Americans say it’s ok to defraud insurers, says a survey by the consulting firm Accenture Ltd.
• About one in 10 people agree it’s ok to submit claims for items that aren’t lost or damaged, or for personal injuries that didn’t occur.
• Two of five people are “not very likely” or “not likely at all” to report someone who ripped of an insurer.
• Nearly one of 10 Americans would commit insurance fraud if they knew they could get away with it.

Dancer Charged With Insurance Fraud is a post from: Peppercoin Insurance

Sometimes your medical provider does not take on the burden of filling out the claim form on your behalf so you have to figure out how to do it.

Here are the steps you will want to take to do this successfully and well as some tips to make sure that your claim is successful.

Get Your Hands On Itemized Receipts

The first step is to procure a detailed bill. An itemized bill is simply one that lists every service provided as well as the cost for each individual portion of the treatment process. Your insurance company needs these itemized bills so that they can confirm the amount of the overall bill as well as the individual expenses incurred for each portion of the treatment process.

When you send your claim for to the health insurance company, the original itemized bills will have to be attached. Without these, your insurance company would have no idea how much your medical services cost or for what medical services you were being charged for.

Completing Your Claim Form

To complete a claim form, first you need to get your hands on one. This is as simple as contacting your health insurance company and asking for the proper form. These forms are typically straightforward and should guide you through the process.

Filling these forms out is a matter of following the directions given. You will have to provide information such as to who should be paid for these services, why the medical visit was necessary, and your general health insurance information. This claim form will prompt you for any information that is required to complete the claim process.

Check For Accuracy

There are a few more quick steps that you need to remember before you send in your claim forms and all the necessary related paperwork. You want to go over all your information to make sure it is correct. Mistakes could interfere with your claim being paid quickly. You will also want to make copies not only of the claim form but of all your paperwork. These personal records will help you to dispute any problems that happen with your paperwork and will make it easier for you to file your claim again if that becomes necessary.

You will want to call your insurance company to notify them that you plan to send in your claim and all the appropriate information. This is your chance to tell them all the documents that you will be submitting and ask if there is anything else you need to make your claim successful or to help the process along. You also want to inquire as to how long until you should expect this claim to be paid. This will give you an idea of when to follow up if the claim has not yet been paid.

The right way to fill out a health insurance claim is painfully simple. You just follow the directions. Filing a claim is another matter entirely. These steps illustrate the process of filing a claim so that your next claim will be a successful one. All this paperwork is just a necessary part of health insurance.

The Right Way To File A Health Insurance Claim is a post from: Peppercoin Insurance

For example, the fraud division handled 2,600 auto insurance fraud cases. Consumers should be concerned about this because fraud can lead to higher insurance expenses that are passed on through increased rates for all customers.

The State of Maryland has told consumers they don’t need to be concerned about the rising number of auto insurance fraud cases because the fraud division is investigating all reports. Of the 2,600 fraud cases, 1,300 of them were referrals.

In other words, they were reports of fraud sent to the fraud division. Because all reports of fraud are investigated the potential impact on insurance premiums is minimized since money will be recovered in many cases as a result of state investigations.

Auto insurance fraud can take many forms. For example, trying to charge an insurance company for auto damages that were not incurred as a result of a covered accident is fraud. Another type of fraud is called a “give up”. A give up is when an insured drive reports a vehicle is stolen when in truth it was not.

Why is the number of auto insurance fraud cases rising? The reason in Maryland and in other states seems to be the ongoing recession. According to Henneman, people committing auto insurance fraud are doing so to obtain money. With the economy in such poor condition and unemployment rising, many consumers are having cash problems. They pay their premiums for years and some begin to tell themselves it is time for the insurance company to return some benefits.

This kind of thinking leads to insurance fraud. For example, there have been cases of people setting old autos on fire and then filing a claim

Maryland has a progressive fraud reporting system which is why the state reassures consumers worried about higher premium they have little to worry about. Insurance companies can enter information about suspected fraud into a national online database. The information is then sent to the appropriate state for investigation. Being able to input information into a database speeds up the investigation process considerably.

There are 46 states that currently use the national secure database system for suspected fraud reporting. The Maryland Insurance Administration also participates in the Washington Area Vehicle Enforcement program and the Baltimore Regional Auto Theft Task Force.

When the recession started, law enforcement officials across the nation told the public that they expected to see an increase in many crime categories. When money is tight and unemployment is high, people get desperate. As the old saying goes: desperate people do desperate things.

The 2,600 auto insurance fraud case number is an estimate because cases are still being investigated. Some may turn out to be legitimate.

Fraudulent Maryland Auto Insurance Reports On The Rise is a post from: Peppercoin Insurance

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as many drivers have turned to special vehicles in order to compensate for the high costs of fueling their rides. One such example is the hybrid car, which in most cases is an outstanding choice for fuel efficiency, reliability, and sometimes environmental awareness. However, in many different ways, hybrids can benefit a driver beyond the expenses incurred at a gas station, and these unique vehicles are receiving generous treatment from government officials and automotive insurance businesses alike.

No matter what state you live in, auto insurance is most probably a requirement by law. While not everybody may like the fact that it is demanded of them, it is a positive thing to have liability when on the road just in case of the event that an accident may happen. With that said, drivers are encouraged to shop around and find the best rates for their vehicle while getting quality service.

One thing that most insurers are incorporating is a special rate discount that applies to drivers who use hybrids. Sometimes, this discount can be in value of 10% or more, depending on the company and the driver. However, not every hybrid can apply for this discount. For instance, sports hybrids that emphasize power for less fuel consumption are usually not looked at by insurance companies for their beneficial effects and conservation, and likewise don’t get the same treatment as a hybrid that stresses efficiency and economy.

Whatever the case may be, it is important that you look into this carefully and discuss the matter with your insurer.

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• Auto Insurance Industry May Adapt Pay-As-You-Drive Policy
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• Filing In The Gap Of Gap Insurance

Auto Insurance Companies Give Special Discount To Hybrid Drivers is a post from: Peppercoin Insurance