National Fraud Awareness Week serves as a reminder to be more alert.
11/05/2013 – Northbrook, Ill.
Insurance fraud is one that can cost the industry billions of dollars each year, which ultimately can impact customers’ premiums and, in some cases, can result in a customer becoming a victim. This week, Allstate Insurance Company joins other insurers in Fraud Awareness Week, a call to action for helping customers not become victims and, at the same time, promote ways to save the customer money by combatting fraud.
According to a survey of fraud experts conducted by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), organizations around the world lose an estimated five percent of their annual revenues to fraud. The fight is a constant one.
Insurance fraud is a hydra-headed crime that steals billions of dollars a year, ruins lives, taxes America’s economic vitality and even kills innocent people,” says the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud Executive Director Dennis Jay who also noted Allstate’s specific involvement in the fight against insurance fraud.
“Allstate has taken an especially strong stance in fighting this crime. Highly focused partnerships among insurers, regulators and other fraud fighters is essential to turning the corner on this stubborn crime,” Jay says.
Allstate fights fraud in a variety of ways. Medical fraud from unscrupulous doctors, medical clinics and lawyers is one that can result in lawsuits around the country. Over the past five years, Allstate has filed more than 120 such suits seeking more than 225 million dollars. Almost a third of those happened in the state of New York where lawmakers are working on ways to reduce fraud in the state.
Fraud takes on many forms and an old-fashioned e-mail or phone scam is just one of them. Here are some tips on how to avoid becoming a victim:
- Do not reply to suspicious emails and do not provide callers with sensitive or personal information.
- Call the referenced company using a phone number from a trusted source such as business literature you received in the past or their official website. Do not call the number referenced in the suspicious communication.
- Check the validity of a link within an email by rolling your curser over it and previewing the URL within your browser. If it does not match that of the business they claim to represent, do not trust it.
- When conducting business on the web, use only secure websites. The address of a secure website will begin with “https” and, in most cases, your browser will indicate it is secure by showing a padlock in the lower right corner.
“From federal authorities to state consumer affairs departments to public and private insurers, perpetrators know the pressure is getting turned up and we will continue to fight fraud wherever it lives to better protect our customers,” says Allstate’s Special Investigations Unit Manager Rebecca Abel. “Being alert and prepared is critical to the fight against insurance fraud not just this week but always.”
For more information on fraud week, please visit: http://www.fraudweek.com/
The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) is the nation’s largest publicly held personal lines insurer, serving approximately 16 million households through its Allstate, Encompass, Esurance and Answer Financial brand names and Allstate Financial business segment. Allstate branded insurance products (auto, home, life and retirement) and services are offered through Allstate agencies, independent agencies, and Allstate exclusive financial representatives, as well as via www.allstate.com, www.allstate.com/financial and 1-800 Allstate®, and are widely known through the slogan “You’re In Good Hands With Allstate®.” As part of Allstate’s commitment to strengthen local communities, The Allstate Foundation, Allstate employees, agency owners and the corporation provided $29 million in 2012 to thousands of nonprofit organizations and important causes across the United States.
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Contact:
Justin Herndon
Justin.Herndon@allstate.com
727-512-8314 cell