NEBRASKA NEWS

IOWA NEWS

Currently our division has the following people:

Eric Dunning

Fraud Division Director

E-mail: Eric.dunning@nebrasak.gov

Kimberly P. Church, SCLA, CIFI, AHFI

Fraud Division Chief

Telephone: 402.471.4999

E-mail: Kimberly.Church@nebraska.gov

John McGahan

Fraud Investigator

Telephone: 402.471.1842

E-mail:: John.McGahan@nebraska.gov

Charles Starr

Fraud Investigator

Telephone: 402.471.8334

E-Mail:: charles.starr@nebraska.gov

Connie C. Drake

Fraud Analyst

Telephone: 402.471.8336

E-mail:: Connie.Drake@nebraska.gov

2019 Nebraska Insurance

Fraud Proclamation

The Iowa Insurance Division's Fraud Bureau is charged with investigating financial crimes in violation of the insurance laws of the State of Iowa. The Bureau is staffed by-full time law enforcement officers and is currently led by interim Bureau Chief Matt Mortvedt. Fraud Bureau investigators are trained to investigate referrals covering all lines of insurance, including but not limited to auto, property & casualty, life, healthcare, and disability. The Bureau has one criminal intelligence analyst and five full time investigators, with one specifically dedicated to Workers' Compensation referrals.

During calendar year 2021, the Fraud Bureau received 966 referrals of insurance and securities fraud from multiple sources including insurance companies, the National Insurance Crime Bureau, law enforcement, fire marshals, other state government entities, and concerned citizens. Even with only 6% of the referrals attaching a value to the loss, the financial impact reported was a loss of over $5.7 million. Through the efforts of insurance company investigators and staff, an additional $4.2 million in fraudulent claim payments was prevented.

Insurance fraud was not isolated to any specific geographic region of the state. Of Iowa’s 99 counties, 90 had referrals of insurance fraud taking place. Polk county led all others with 173 referrals, with Linn and Scott county following with 88 and 69 referrals respectively.

In 2021, auto claims made up the bulk of referrals to the Fraud Bureau. Most of these involved the purchase or attempted purchase of insurance coverage after a loss or turning in existing damage as new. Property and Casualty claims were around half the number of referrals, but with a much greater amount of actual loss. Most P&C referrals related to inflated item values following a loss and losses that did not occur in the first place.

Any Iowans who wish to report possible insurance fraud or have questions about what constitutes fraud should contact the Fraud Bureau at (515) 654-6556 or via email at Fraud@iid.iowa.gov.

The Insurance Fraud Prevention Division (IFPD) received 744 case referrals regarding potential violations of the Nebraska Insurance Fraud Act during 2021. Of the referrals received, 550 (74%) were submitted through the National Insurance Crime Bureau and 100 (13%) were submitted via the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ online fraud reporting system. The remainder were submitted by victims, concerned consumers, or law enforcement agencies.

Actual or potential monetary losses, exceeding $5.5 million, were reported for 44% (327) of the cases.

Cases are evaluated based upon a number of criteria, including the statute of
limitations, applicability of Nebraska statutes, and solvability factors. Upon completion of the case review, a status letter is sent advising the complainant of disposition.

The IFPD investigated the following types of insurance fraud cases during 2021:

 Property/Casualty = 614 Cases (83%)
 Life/Health = 123 Cases (16%)
 Agent or Internal Fraud = 6 Cases (.5%)
 Other Fraud = 1 Cases (.5%)

Upon completion of a case investigation, the IFPD makes a determination to close
the case for one of the following reasons: unfounded allegations, insufficient
evidence for prosecution, or sufficient evidence to forward the information to a
prosecutor for consideration in filing a criminal violation of the Nebraska Insurance Fraud Act. Before sending a case for a prosecutor’s review, the IFPD prepares an investigative summary report outlining the circumstances of the investigation.

2021 Cases Sent for Criminal Prosecution:
 29 Cases
 21 Suspects

2021 Convictions:
 22 Cases
 16 Suspects

2021 Restitution:
 12 Cases
 $89,266.40

Cases referred to the IFPD for investigation had venue in 56 Nebraska counties.
Douglas, Lancaster, and Sarpy Counties accounted for 75% of cases (558 cases).

2019 Iowa Insurance

Fraud Proclamation

Jared Kirby Appointed Deputy Insurance Commissioner

Des Moines, Iowa – Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen today announced that Jared Kirby has been appointed as Deputy Insurance Commissioner for Market Regulation.

Currently our division has the following people:

Dawn Blahnik

Special Investigator

Telephone: 515.654.6558

E-mail: Dawn.Blahnik@iid.iowa.gov

Ryan Hubbert, CPCU

Criminal Intelligence Analyst Senior

Telephone: 515.654.6556

E-mail: Ryan.Hubbert@iid.iowa.gov

Matt Mortvedt

Interim Bureau Chief

Telephone: 515.654.6552