Norfolk DA Awarded Grant To Fight Insurance Fraud

NORFOLK COUNTY, MA — Norfolk District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey has been awarded a $40,000 grant from the Massachusetts Insurance Fraud Bureau. The money will be used to continue their partnership investigating and prosecuting faked accidents. The prosecution saves consumers money in the process.

“Every dollar that insurance companies pay out in fraudulent claims is coming out of the pocket of honest policy holders,” District Attorney Morrissey said. “This is our 15th year taking part in this effort, and the IFB’s statistics show this to be a very successful partnership.”

According to the IFB’s executive director Daniel Johnston, the Community Insurance Fraud Initiative has dropped insurance premiums state-wide, and not just in the areas the CIFI targets. “The CIFI program has had a deterrent effect on the state as a whole as well, with policyholders saving $5.7 billion since the start of the program in 2003,” Johnston said.

The insurance fraud initiative began on the North Shore in 2003, after a woman was killed in a staged accident. The Norfolk DA’s office joined the partnership in 2005, initially targeting Randolph because that town had the worst fraud indication statistics in the county.

“Since that time, we have had successful prosecutions in other municipalities as well,” District Attorney Morrissey said. “When we rid our communities of staged accidents, residents are safer. When we decrease insurance fraud in the marketplace, every policy holder benefits from lower rates.