National Insurance Crime Bureau Says Arizona Leads Nation in Auto Glass Claims

Arizona leads the nation in auto glass claims despite being 14th in total population, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

Insurance industry data shows that between 2015 and 2019, 10% of the nation’s auto glass claims were in Arizona. More auto glass claims are filed in Arizona than California or Texas, which have respective populations 5.5 and 4 times larger, according to the NICB.

“The fact that auto glass claims have increased 26% over the last five years suggests that there may be a rise in fraudulent activity in Arizona,” Howard Handler, NICB’s government affairs director, said in a statement.

Fraudsters continue to target Arizona, as they look to take advantage of policyholders by convincing them they need a windshield repair or replacement when they might not, while some glass repair companies bill for services and never actually replace the windshield, or often replace windshields that do not have damage, according to the NICB.

“In many cases, these fraudulent auto glass companies are convincing consumers to sign an assignment of benefits (AOB) form, which means you are giving the auto glass company the right to file an insurance claim, make the repairs, and collect any insurance payments,” Handler said. “The problem is these companies are turning this into a lucrative business by inflating the insurance claim, and collecting the money for themselves. This type of AOB abuse is a scam and must be stopped.”

Des Plaines, Ill.-based NICB is a not-for-profit organization focused on preventing, detecting and defeating insurance fraud and vehicle theft through data analytics, investigations, learning and development, government affairs and public affairs.

Topics Auto Fraud Claims Arizona