Florida cracking down on insurance fraud

Florida is aggressively pursuing insurance cheats, trying to cut down on fraud in the industry by arresting more than 1,500 people so far this fiscal year. And it’s just a start, according to Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater. "I am proud of the significant progress we are making to get fraudsters out of the pockets of hard-working Floridians, yet the fight against fraud remains an ongoing battle," Atwater said. Hundreds of consumers have been arrested on fraud-related charges for actions related to anything from car insurance claims to homeowners insurance issues. A total of 1,571 were arrested through June 30, up from only 871 five years ago. Most disturbing, though, have been people in the business — insurance agents — who have been arrested for fraud. Wellington’s Leon Mobley was arrested last week on charges that he submitted false inspection forms to obtain discounted homeowner’s premiums for two clients, according to Atwater’s office. State investigators found the fraudulent paperwork after a customer complained that Mobley had submitted a false wind mitigation form to her insurance company without her knowledge or approval. Atwater said it is especially important to make sure that the state’s licenses insurance agents do things right.