David Morse & Associates: Fighting Insurance Fraud Helps Consumers
By Elisabeth Lawrence
"Peruse the newspaper headlines in virtually any city in the U.S., and you'll undoubtedly run across a story about fraud," says Tom Reitze, President of David Morse & Associates (www.davidmorse.com), providers of third-party administrator services, field adjusting services, specialty claims services, and fraud investigations. "Most consumers don't realize that 25 percent of their insurance premiums are ultimately used to pay fraudulent claims."

Indeed, in San Jose, Calif., 25 people in an Car fraud ring were recently indicted for allegedly staging and reporting two dozen fake car accidents during a five-year period, bilking insurance companies out of an estimated $400,000. David Morse & Associates and other companies provided critical information that led to the arrests and indictments. In Bridgeport, Conn., a woman was recently convicted of torching her home in order to collect from her homeowner's policy. And, in Sutton, Mass., a man pleaded guilty to worker's compensation fraud for collecting $70,000 in disability benefits while secretly working in a physically demanding job.

According to Reitze, David Morse & Associates is committed to combating fraud, which ultimately helps consumers by keeping insurance premiums in check. "The premise of insurance is pooled risk, but when the bad guys bilk insurance companies, honest people suffer through higher premiums," he says. "That's why our fraud investigation unit prides itself in catching fraudsters in the act."

Reitze readily recalls any number of claims where David Morse & Associates fraud investigators and adjustors employed dogged legwork, quick thinking, and expertise to keep their clients from being defrauded and help honest consumers in the process.

In one instance, a David Morse & Associates investigator was assigned to a person alleging total disability who happened to live in a rural farming community. The investigator was inventive in locating the residence of the man, but when he was not at home, the investigator had to turn to townspeople for help. The investigator was told that the "disabled" claimant was building a house in a nearby town. Reitze points out with pride, "Although the investigator was required to videotape the man, he found himself in the midst of fields, with no place to hide his vehicle. Using his imagination, he staged a vehicle breakdown on the side of the highway, and managed to capture video of the man bouncing around over rough ground on a tractor and manhandling bales of hay. Thanks to the inventiveness of the investigator,