FRAUD TARGETED IN TEXAS:

With the creation of the Texas Committee on Insurance Fraud, the Texas insurance industry, state and county agencies, and national organizations are engaging for the first time in a coordinated effort to battle insurance fraud. According to the Insurance Council of Texas, the goal of the new initiative is to drastically reduce insurance fraud on every level to help alleviate higher premiums that are the result of fraudulent claims. The committee evolved from an informal discussion between the ICT—which represents more than 500 property and casualty companies—and the Texas Department of Insurance Fraud Unit. Representatives from the National Insurance Crime Bureau, the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud and the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association will address the committee at its first meeting in Austin on Jan. 28. The group’s goal is to discuss what is needed and propose legislation that could aid officials at all levels in making arrests, prosecuting and ultimately convicting persons responsible for insurance fraud. The committee is seeking ways to expand the state’s fraud fighting capabilities through public education, enhancing communication and cooperation among fraud-fighting organizations and by proposing legislation to strengthen existing laws. Craig Sparks, president of Union Standard Insurance Company in Dallas, will serve as chairman of the Texas Committee on Insurance Fraud. It will be divided into groups that will focus on property and casualty, life, health, workers compensation, enforcement and education. Group chairs will work together to coordinate each group’s activities into proposed legislation. The Texas Committee on Insurance Fraud has grown to more than 50 different individuals and organizations that will meet at 2 p.m. on Jan. 28, at the Texas Department of Insurance in Austin.

Topics Texas Legislation Fraud