Officials: Ignorance is No Excuse for General Insurance Fraud

Officials in Pennsylvania are reminding consumers that general insurance fraud is a serious crime that carries consequences, even for those who say there were unaware they committed it.

The Pennsylvania Insurance Fraud Prevention Authority (IFPA) has launched a new campaign to educate consumers about the overall costs of insurance fraud and what can happen to those who engage in it. "The research we conducted for this campaign told us that most Pennsylvania insurance consumers do not know exactly what insurance fraud is. We want more consumers to understand that lying to their insurance company is a felony for which they can be investigated, charged, and punished," said IFPA Executive Director Ralph Burnham.

The IFPA revealed that a recent survey had found 70 percent of Pennsylvania residents said they would never commit insurance fraud. The problem was that far fewer of them actually understood what constitutes insurance fraud, or how serious of a crime it is. Examples provided include lying about the value of items stolen during a break-in, or concealing the full details of an auto accident. With that in mind, the group's campaign aims to help "steer people away from bad decisions that can lead to criminal acts that wreck lives." This is especially helpful during the current economy, when most states have reported an upswing in general insurance fraud that involves a variety of different actions.