New York – Senator Golden: After “Anti-Semitic” Car Firebombs, Time to Get Serious about Insurance Fraud

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    New York – Millions of New Yorkers were offended and a community was terrified by the seemingly anti-Semitic car firebombings in Midwood, Brooklyn last November. But the crime that rattled the city has turned out to be just a smoke screen to conceal more auto insurance fraud – a crime that costs New Yorkers millions of dollars a year and puts lives at risk. Marty Golden (R-Brooklyn) and the citizen consumer group NewYorkers Stand Against Insurance Fraud (NYSAIF) ask that the state legislature tackle auto insurance reform this year.

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    Criminals like these in Midwood are staging auto accidents and racking up fake medical bills – driving auto insurance rates ever higher. They are getting away with it, because of loopholes in New York’s ‘no-fault’ auto insurance laws.

    “These crooks have reached a new low. These despicable thugs have been ripping us off for years, driving up insurance rates and risking lives. Now, they’re dividing and terrorizing our neighborhoods, just so they can make a quick buck,” said Senator Marty Golden (R-Brooklyn). “What has to happen for the state to get serious about reforming our auto insurance laws? This has got to be the year. I ask all New Yorkers to contact their state representatives and Governor Cuomo and tell them you want auto insurance reform now.”

    New York is among just a handful of states with ‘no fault’ insurance systems. One of the fastest growing crimes in New York, auto insurance fraud is a criminal practice that has cost New York drivers an estimated $1 billion in higher auto insurance premiums over the past five years alone. New York drivers are now paying 53% more than the average American for auto insurance with auto insurance fraud being a big reason. In essence, the people behind this crime are imposing a ‘fraud tax’ on honest, hard working New Yorkers by gaming the auto insurance system.

    “These are professional con-artists who will go to any length to perpetrate their crimes – even if it means staging a hate-crime and igniting a potentially deadly explosion,” said spokesman of NYSAIF, David Schwartz. “We call on the rest of the state legislature and the Governor to join Senator Golden in championing legislation in Albany to stop the ‘fraud tax’ – before more people and property get hurt.”


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    11 Comments
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    Facts1
    Facts1
    12 years ago

    Just government propaganda, the high prices of insurance have to do with regulation. There isn’t more insurance fraud in NY than in NJ. The price in NJ is about a quarter of what we pay here.

    It has as much to do with Fraud as high Tax’s have to do with non payers, it goes up regardless. Government needs all the money in the world and having less fraud doesn’t change that.

    BTW; Insurance fraud is ferociously litigated and prosecuted, no need to add more red tape.

    shredready
    shredready
    12 years ago

    I am a little confused was this confirmed as insurance fraud? If they they know why no arrests?

    12 years ago

    Excellent, Marty is the best. Halivi the Frum Communities had such professional representation.

    woofer
    woofer
    12 years ago

    This article is nothing but a pro-insurance propaganda piece.

    No-fault insurance has to do with personal injuries. The way that no-fault fraud works is that people falsely claim to be injured in car accidents, and unscrupulous medical providers render treatment that is medically unnecessary, sometimes kicking back cash to the person claiming to be injured. Of course, the insurance companies hire doctors to evaluate the injured victims too, and those insurance company doctors remarkably almost always find that the patient has made the maximum recovery and would not benefit from further treatment, which is a ground to cut off the no-fault benefits.

    By the way, no-fault benefits are capped at $50,000, which isn’t really that much.

    If somebody torched his own car, that would have nothing at all to do with no-fault insurance fraud. It appears that someone just wanted to use this story as a platform to rail against no-fault fraud.

    This whole story doesn’t make sense. Why would someone torch his own car? That would be a claim under his collision policy, which usually has a high deductible, and only pays book value. If someone had financial problems, why no sell the car at full price?

    cbdds
    cbdds
    12 years ago

    Rates in NYC are much higher because NYC is full of cars that are unsafe, driven by unlicensed drivers and are uninsured. Drive through Brooklyn and count the amazing number of visitors from Pennsylvania!

    12 years ago

    AFAIK, no-fault only applies to injuries, not to property damage like what happened in Midwood.