The Coalition Against Insurance Fraud — A Frightening Study

The Coalition Against Insurance Fraud just released its 2022 insurance fraud totals. This is the first time in 25 years that this report has been done. The last study in 1995 found fraud costing U.S. insurers and consumers $80 billion a year.

This study found it to be $308.6 billion a year.

It’s quite an increase. The information that led to the $306-plus billion number comes the FBI, the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.), the Insurance Research Council (IRC), the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), the U.S. Government Accountability Office and others.

The report totals 40 pages.

The coalition’s executive director, Matthew Smith said right now cost is $932.63 a year for each individual and $3,750.52 per family.

“There is a huge and monumental impact that insurance fraud causes to American citizens, American families, and to our economy every single year,” Smith said. “We updated our study because regulators of insurance need to know this information, as do legislators in Washington DC and in our state capitals all across America.”

The report looked at eight insurance categories.

• *Life insurance was the most abused with a cost of $74.7 billion annually
• *Medicare and Medicaid was second and cost $68.7 billion
• *P&C insurers coughed up $45 billion
• *Healthcare fraud hit $36 billion
• *Premium insurance was $36 billion
• *Work comp coughed up $36 billion

Smith and the coalition are urging insurers to find new ways to combat fraud. “Insurance fraud is the crime we all pay for,” Smith noted. “Ultimately, it's American policyholders and consumers that pay the high cost of insurance fraud.”