A new report from the National Insurance Crime Bureau, NICB, shows a big jump in questionable claims in New York. With 145 questionable claims, the city of Buffalo came in second behind New York City which had 4,016 questionable claims. New York City held57% of the statewide total of questionable claims. In all, 7,026 questionable claims were filed across the state of New York in 2010. That’s up from 6,378 in 2008.

So how does an insurance claim become “questionable?” Authorities say there are seven reasons, but most are because they were “faked/exaggerated injury”. Other reasons include “excessive treatment” and “staged/caused accident.” According to reports, most of the questionable claims come from automobile insurance policies. In fact 83% of questionable claims in 201 involved auto insurance.

Allstate responded to the report. Krista Conte, New York spokesperson for Allstate said, “We commend the NICB on their efforts to fight fraud and raise awareness about this issue, which is extremely important to all New Yorkers. Not only is no-fault fraud, or auto accident fraud, costing New York consumers and insurers hundreds of millions of dollars, it puts drivers at risk. Those who would commit this type of crime are taking advantage of the broken no-fault system and are organized, calculating and part of a big business. They are gaming the auto insurance system and the victims are honest, hard working New Yorkers.”

Many auto insurance companies are trying to keep your business by offering perks and incentives. Wondering what all of these things mean? Here are some key auto insurance terms defined:

Accident Forgiveness: In the past, every time you got in an accident your insurance premiums soared and you ended up paying way more. But now many insurance companies are offering accident forgiveness. If you’re in an accident that is your fault, accident forgiveness will protect your driving record and prevent your rates from skyrocketing.

Deductible Rewards: Many insurance companies have realized how annoying it is to be a great driver, but not get any incentive for it. Now with deductible rewards the insurance company will take a certain amount of money off of your Collision deductible every year you go without having an accident.

Safe Driving Bonus: When you don’t get into accidents, the insurance company doesn’t have to spend any money on you. Now some companies are giving you a piece of your money back as a reward for being a safe driver. Every six months to a year they’ll cut you a check if you haven’t had any issues. The amount of the check is usually equal to a small percentage of your premium.

New Car Replacement: This term is just like it sounds. Since cars lose their value so quickly, drivers who totaled their new cars ended up with a bad deal. They’d get the money equal to what their car was worth, which worked out to be a bad deal. Now some auto insurance providers are promising to give you a new car if yours is totaled within the first three years– not just the depreciated value.

The Connecticut Department of Insurance issued a statement earlier today, warning drivers about the menace of relying on fraudulent auto insurance providers.

This year’s economic troubles have put a strain on drivers’ budgets, and the Department of Insurance is worried that some Connecticut drivers might rely on phony auto insurance providers to trim their household expenses. However, by buying auto insurance cards issued by scammers, rather than legitimate insurance providers, these drivers only risk losing everything.

If you are thinking about the purchase of an SUV, you are probably already aware that they are quite expensive – that’s pretty common knowledge, especially at the gas pump. However, did you know that your auto insurance is also going to be more expensive? Insurance analysts say that the cost of insuring an SUV will average out to be 10 to 20 percent more than insuring an automobile.