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Guest column: Donovan Brown … Stop PIP fraud in Florida NOW
As Florida drivers’ insurance rates continue to rise due to the state’s current no-fault system running rampant with fraud across the Sunshine State, we applaud the Florida Legislature for recognizing the need to transform the no fault system now and making it a priority this session.
Florida’s most honest consumers are paying the price resulting from staged accidents, out of control litigation and unscrupulous personal injury protection (PIP) clinics that foist often unnecessary services on PIP claimants. The current no-fault system’s makeup requires every driver to carry $10,000 of PIP insurance that pays policyholders’ medical costs in a timely manner, regardless of who causes the wreck.
According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Florida insurance consumers pay 56 percent more than consumers in other states for automobile insurance premiums. In addition, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, Florida led the nation in questionable insurance claims from 2007 to 2009, with three of the top five U.S. cities with the highest rate of staged-accident, questionable claims being right here in Florida: Tampa, Miami and Orlando.
We believe that Florida should pass legislation containing four key elements that are crucial in transforming the broken PIP system:
1. Allowing a reasonable amount of time to investigate suspicious claims.
2. Eliminating incentives for filing frivolous lawsuits by placing reasonable caps on attorney fees.
3. Providing greater verification of clinics to ensure that services provided are legitimate.
4. Preventing fraudulent, unnecessary medical treatments.
We must protect consumers and eliminate the rampant PIP fraud that is driving up the cost of insurance premiums in our state, and we believe sound policy containing these elements can do just that. We urge the Florida Legislature to enact these four key elements and transform the state’s no-fault system now. We stand ready and willing to assist in any way we can as we head toward the 2012 legislative session in January.
This article first appeared in Naples Daily News, December 21, 2011.
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