Smashed car windows lead dubious insurance claims, group says

Questionable insurance claims rose 14 percent in the first half of 2010, led by a fivefold increase for car windows that owners may have smashed, the National Insurance Crime Bureau reported today. Almost half the 7,993 cases of suspected fraud were related to vehicles, the industry group said. Some policyholders deliberately damaged car windows or staged phony accidents, it said. The number of dubious claims for hailstorm damage to roofs of houses doubled.