Revere gets tough on insurance fraud
Scofflaws beware: A new task force has been formed to combat auto insurance fraud in Revere.
In an effort to reduce the number of fraudulent insurance claims, the state's Insurance Fraud Bureau has established a Community Insurance Fraud Initiative in the city, unveiling billboards with a hot line number for local fraud tips. The announcement was made Monday at the site of one of the billboards at 430 Broadway.
"The IFB will dedicate one full-time investigator to this effort in Revere and will partner with the Revere Police Department to bring the full effect of the IFB's resources and databases to the community," said Daniel J. Johnston, executive director of the Insurance Fraud Bureau. "We are pleased to bring this program to Revere, and we recognize that this is not a one- or two-month project. We are dedicated to maintaining it into the future."
By combining the resources of the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts, the Revere Police Department, the office of Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley, and the office of the Massachusetts attorney general, officials are hoping to curb the abuse that drives up insurance premium costs for Revere residents.
"Anything that is going to drive down insurance rates in the city of Revere is helpful," said Revere Mayor Thomas G. Ambrosino, who with Conley and Revere Police Chief Terrence Reardon, flanked Johnston at the news conference. "Our hope is that the publicity alone will give pause to anyone who might be thinking of committing this kind of crime."
Revere is among the communities with the highest rates of auto accidents and injuries in Massachusetts, records show.
In 2005, the statewide average injury rate was 31 injury claims for every 100 accidents; in Revere, 40 claims were filed per 100 accidents.
As a result, insurance premiums for Revere drivers are among the highest in the state.
The initiative is modeled after nine similar programs in other Massachusetts communities including Chelsea and Lynn, Johnston noted.
To date, cities and towns with fraud tip programs have seen a combined reduction of roughly $200 million in auto accident claims, he added.
Investigations in those communities also have led to charges against or arrests of 528 individuals for alleged insurance fraud, including the indictments or convictions of lawyers, chiropractors, and others accused of participating in the schemes.
"The long-term benefit, of course, is lower insurance rates for those in the Commonwealth who bear the brunt of paying for this serious economic crime," Johnston said. He is optimistic that the Revere task force will yield similar results.
The Revere task force is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of perpetrators who commit insurance fraud.
The state's first fraud tip program was established in Lawrence in October 2003, following the death of a 65-year-old Lawrence woman in a car crash that was allegedly staged so that the occupants of the vehicles involved in the accident could file fraudulent insurance claims for injuries.
Established in 1991, the Insurance Fraud Bureau is the only investigative agency of its kind in the country that is privately funded by the state's insurance industry.
The bureau refers cases of suspected insurance fraud to local, state, and federal prosecutors as well as licensing agencies.
The fraud tip hot line number is 800-323-7283.
Brenda J. Buote may be reached at bbuote@globe.com. 
