Authorities, NICB and insurance companies combat fraud
The Cape Coral Police Department and Florida Highway Patrol teamed up with the National Insurance Crime Bureau and numerous insurance agents to crack down on auto insurance fraud Thursday, according to officials.
According to figures from the NICB, millions of dollars are being paid out daily for automobile insurance fraud. Much of that is passed along to law abiding drivers.
Officers conducted a wolfpack-style roving patrol operation from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., pulling over drivers for moving violations. The officers went a step further and verified the driver’s insurance by running the policy number through one of the Cape police dispatchers who were assigned to the operation.
The dispatchers, who were stationed in a room with the insurance agents, provided the agents with the policy information. The agents were able to instantly verify the insurance and detect fraudulent cards.
The information was then relayed back to the officers who were on the traffic stops.
In all, 130 traffic stops were conducted during the operation, resulting in:
– Moving violations: 9
– Non-moving violations: 34
– Criminal violations: 1
– No proof of insurance: 6
– Warning tickets: 73
– Total tickets: 50
The following insurance companies participated in the operation:
– Allstate
– Direct General
– Farmers
– Geico
– Infinity
– Mercury
– Nationwide
– Sentry
– State Farm
– Travelers
– USAA
– 21st Century
Source: Cape Coral Police Department