Fighting Insurance Fraud
What is insurance fraud and how does it affect me?
Insurance fraud is the act of falsifying or exaggerating the facts of an accident to an insurance company to obtain payment that would not otherwise be made. Common types of insurance fraud are staged accidents, exaggerated injuries, and inflated medical bills.
What is GEICO's Special Investigations Unit?
GEICO employs an entire division of associates whose sole mission is to detect, deter, and defeat insurance fraud. This division, known as the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), is composed mainly of individuals who have extensive law enforcement experience as well as insurance knowledge.
What does SIU do?
SIU fights fraud in a variety of ways, including:
- Investigating potential fraudulent activity – SIU examines suspicious claims closely for evidence of fraud.
- Cooperating with local, state, and federal law enforcement to pursue perpetrators of insurance fraud – SIU, working closely with NICB, frequently cooperates with the law enforcement community to help put fraud perpetrators out of business.
- Training claims associates to identify fraud – SIU educates GEICO's adjusters and examiners to look for "red flags", or indicators that fraud might be occurring. To effectively fight fraud, all of GEICO's claims associates need to be knowledgeable about the latest insurance fraud schemes.
How can I protect myself?
- If you have an accident, be sure to call the police to the scene. Beware of anyone who is anxious to leave quickly before police arrive.
- Record names, addresses, license plate numbers, witness information, and any other facts you think might be important.
- Keep a disposable camera in your vehicle to take photos of the vehicles involved and the accident scene.
- Do not tailgate—criminals will brake unexpectedly in front of tailgaters to intentionally cause an accident. Look out for vehicles that brake suddenly for no apparent reason.
- Look out for large, older vehicles with three or more occupants. Criminals often crowd into old cars when looking to stage an accident.
- Count and record the number of occupants in each involved vehicle.
- If you suspect fraud, notify police or GEICO (1-800-824-5404 ext. 3313).
- You can also report fraud to the NICB online or by phone at 1-800-TEL-NICB.