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Auto insurance fraud is one of the biggest causes of premium increases for millions of drivers across the country. As a consequence, insurers, law enforcement officials, and state governments alike are all working together to help stamp out the problem. Now, new data indicates that these efforts have been paying off in the state of Florida in a significant way. Insurance agents might therefore want to take the opportunity to explain to clients in the Sunshine State why they might soon see their auto premiums take a bit of a step back specifically because of this decline in fraud.

For some time now, auto insurance fraud has been so rampant in Florida that the state finally decided to do something about it, passing a bill in 2012 that would help the state's Office of Insurance Regulation more easily spot instances of this type of crime, according to a report from the FOIR. The state has long had a Personal Injury Protection provision to its insurance laws, and criminals were taking advantage in staggering numbers. But that trend has reversed itself since the law was passed.

How impactful is it?
Prior to the law being implemented at the start of 2013, claim numbers were being driven sky-high because of PIP filings, the report said. But since it went into effect, there has been a 13.6 percent drop in insurance rates, in large part because of how important the law has been to making fraud harder to commit. In fact, the fiscal year of 2013-14 saw an estimated decline of about 16 percent in this regard from two years earlier. And while the data is a little bit limited at present, as time goes on officials in the state will be able to learn more about the impact this law has had.

The more insurance agents can do to help their clients understand what impacts their rates, as well as how and why that happens, the better off both parties are likely to be going forward. This is because drivers will start to have a more complete working knowledge of what they can do to improve their financial situations, and thus have a better working relationship with their agents. In fact, good customer service can go a long way toward improving satisfaction ratings and even retention rates, because consumers tend to value this more highly than they do the occasional discount.

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