Commissioner Beckner Receives Special Recognition Award From FIFEC

Please select the service you want to use:

• Newsvine
• Digg
• Delicious
• StumbleUpon
• Technorati
• Buzz
• Favorites
• Google Reader

Close

Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner, District 6, Countywide, was recognized at the 20th Annual Florida Insurance Fraud Education Committee (FIFEC) Conference in Orlando today (June 14) for his exceptional effort and ongoing fight against auto insurance fraud in Hillsborough County and across Florida. Commissioner Beckner received a Special Recognition Award from FIFEC, a statewide organization that works to prevent and prosecute insurance fraud.

Previously, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) and the Florida Division of Insurance Fraud (DIF), Hillsborough County ranked number one in the state in auto insurance fraud, and ranked second in the country behind New York City. Specifically, there was a 546 percent increase in staged accidents and questionable claims in Hillsborough County.

Commissioner Beckner said, "I am honored to receive this special award from the Florida Insurance Fraud Education Committee on behalf of the collaborative efforts of the insurance industry of Florida, medical professionals, and the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office." The issue surrounds the ability for criminals, including suspected organized crime organizations, to set up personal injury protection medical provider clinics that support their fraudulent activity. Due to loopholes in the Florida Statutes, these fake clinics were able to operate without adequate state inspection or regulation.

Commissioner Beckner recognized that law enforcement organizations were hampered in their ability to combat this fraud due to lax regulations. He worked for more than a year with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's office, and other stakeholders, including the NICB and DIF, to get a Hillsborough County ordinance passed that required the licensing of any medical clinic that provides treatment or therapy to patients claiming injury due to an auto accident. On Sept. 21, 2011, the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners unanimously passed this ordinance.

Six months after the ordinance passed the NICB and the County's Consumer Protection Agency released numbers spotlighting a significant decrease in staged auto accidents and questionable insurance claims. In addition, the County's Consumer Protection Agency estimated that more than half of the disputed clinics have closed. The Florida legislature used the Hillsborough County ordinance as a model in shaping a bill which was signed into law May, 2012.

Pictured: Richard Swann, Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Director of Risk Management and Statewide FIFEC Chairman (Left); Kevin Beckner, Hillsborough County Commissioner (center); and Dan Anderson Director of the State of Florida Div of insurance Fraud (Right)

FIFEC is a non-profit corporation comprised of special investigative unit investigators, law enforcement personnel, and dedicated individuals whose purpose is to organize and present an annual statewide educational seminar related to deterring, detecting, investigating and prosecuting insurance fraud. FIFEC is proud of its mission to provide insurance fraud education and training by giving grants to the law enforcement and criminal justice community that attend what is now known as the annual FIFEC Conference.

###

Media Contact: Commissioner Kevin Beckner's office at 813-272-5730