DORCHESTER PARTNERS GROUP: CAR INSURANCE RATE FORUM District Attorney Daniel F. Conley June 24, 2002 This is an empowering night for the neighborhood. Nothing is more powerful than a group of people who share a common concern and a common determination to put a stop to those who are harming them. I'd like to thank the Dorchester Partners Group for this opportunity to explain what my office is doing about this problem and suggest what further actions I think we can take. Let me begin by saying that when we talk about car insurance fraud, the bottom line is that we're talking about neighbors stealing from neighbors. Every time someone in Dorchester files a fraudulent accident report or insurance claim, they are helping to drive up the cost of insurance premiums for everyone in Dorchester. Fraud costs everyone money - car owners, business owners, property owners, and consumers. We can't, and we won't, stand for that. We would not tolerate someone breaking into his neighbor's home and stealing money or valuables from his neighbor's house. Well, this is the same thing. A Dorchester resident who files a fraudulent claim is stealing from his neighbors. We need to make sure the Legislature knows that, and my office is working to make sure that when we prosecute these people, that judges know it too. According to statistics compiled by my office, in 1998 in Dorchester there were 76 bodily injury claims made for every 100 car accidents - 4.2 times as many injury claims as the statewide average. Because insurance rates are partly determined by the number of claims in a given "territory" and the amount of money paid out for thefts, bodily injuries and medical treatment, that means that Dorchester residents pay a lot more in premiums because there are so many more claims than should be expected. We've got to get that message out. I am pleased to see you here tonight, because we in law enforcement, and our lawmakers on Beacon Hill, need your help. Help us get the word out to your friends, family and neighbors. Let them know that people who file fraudulent accident reports are not just ripping off the insurance company - which is bad enough in its own right - but they're also stealing from their own neighbors - from all of you - as well. Fraud doesn't exist in a vacuum. It cannot exist if good and honest people like you shine a light on it. If you or your friends or neighbors know that someone is committing fraud, you or they need to report it. The community let these con artists know that fraud will not be tolerated, and that those who commit fraud will be exposed and reported and punished. We must all make the investment - prosecutors, police, lawmakers, and neighborhood residents - in fighting fraud. I wholeheartedly support the legislative initiatives to make motor vehicle insurance fraud a felony and to ban the use of "runners" by legal or medical practitioners to pursue people involved in accidents. Beyond those needed legislative reforms, my office has had considerable success in the trenches of this battle, investigating and prosecuting those fraud cases that authorities know about. For instance, we prosecuted the owners of a car repair shop for a series of phony accident claims and they will be sent to jail next month. We are working closely with Boston police on a number of cases, and we just charged three new cases in West Roxbury involving phony car theft claims. Earlier this month, a Dorchester man was convicted of insurance fraud and filing a false theft report after he staged the theft of his car to get from under high loan payments. And last week we obtained criminal complaints against a couple who smashed up their car - after they got in a minor accident in Boston that didn't do nearly the amount of damage that they claimed it did. The car owner wanted to collect from his insurer so he could get rid of his car loan, and his girlfriend filed an injury claim even though there was no damage to their car after the minor collision. These examples prove a couple of things. One, the DA's office and our partners in law enforcement, the police and the Massachusetts Insurance Fraud Bureau, take these crimes very seriously. And two, when we investigate, we most often build successful cases and hold the perpetrators accountable for their deceitful actions. So it only makes sense that the more cases that are reported to us, the more people we'll be able to hold accountable for fraud. That translates into less money paid out for fraudulent claims, and ultimately, lower car insurance rates. That's why we need the community's help. As I said earlier, this meeting is a great event, an empowering event. There is no more effective way for victimized neighborhoods to help law enforcement authorities than by getting together and declaring that they are just not going to take it any more. That is what you are doing here tonight. You are empowered. We can help you. Together, let us educate all of Dorchester and all of Boston about the staggering results of auto insurance fraud. Together, we will let the criminals know that we do not stand idly by while they steal from their neighbors. With your help we can - and will - unravel their web of deceit.