An attempted insurance fraud — a crime helping to fuel Florida's position as the state with the third-highest average car insurance rates in the country — got four men a free ride to the Miami-Dade County lock-up.
Bryan Carlos Hernandez, Elvis Fonseca Lauzao, Juan Fonseca Lauzao and Rusland Rivero Tellez, were charged May 22 with various felonies, according to the Office of the Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis. Those felonies include grand theft, organized fraud, false insurance claims and setting up a staged accident for the purpose of insurance fraud.
The four exploited personal injury protection (PIP) benefits of their insurance policies, billing Progressive Insurance and National General insurance after a staged May 12, 2023 accident in Miami-Dade County that had no reported injuries, according to an investigation by the CFO's Criminal Investigations Division (CID), Miami Field Office.
"If you engage in insurance fraud in Florida, you will be exposed and held accountable," Patronis said, according to a news release. "PIP fraud not only undermines the integrity of our insurance markets but also imposes an undue financial burden on every Florida resident in the form of inflated insurance premiums."
Indeed, the average, annual cost of a full-coverage policy in Florida, at $2,917, is 44% higher, or about $900 more, than the national average, which clocks in at about $2,019 a year, according to Insurify, a national insurance comparison platform.
Each of the accused in this case faces up to 10 years in prison, if convicted, according to Patronis' office.
The investigation found that the men went to physical therapy clinics for injuries they never sustained. Progressive Insurance was then billed a combined total of over $28,000 from two clinics and paid out over $28,000. National General Insurance was billed over $59,000 and paid out over $24,000. Both insurance companies were billed for physical therapy none of the four individuals were entitled to, according to a news release..
"Big thank you to my dedicated insurance fraud detectives for tracking down these individuals and bringing them to justice," Patronis said, according to a prepared statement.
The office seems to have more work to do. Insurify cites "severe weather events" and "rampant insurance fraud," for the high cost of Florida car insurance.
While national car insurance average costs take up about 2.6% of the national median household income, the median household in Florida sends about 4.3% of its income to car insurance, according to the latest report from Insurify.
Florida falls behind New York, with the highest-priced car insurance, and Nevada in national rankings. The Sunshine State is tied with New York for the budget bite of insurance when looking at households at the median income.
Identical attempts at reform (SB 464 /HB 653) filed by Republican legislators, Sen. Erin Grall of Vero Beach and Rep. Danny Alvarez of Hillsborough County, both died in committee.
There's some hope that a bipartisan measure (SB 1002), which Gov. Ron DeSantis signed in 2023, will go a way to bring down insurance premiums and unclog auto glass claims in the courts.
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Florida Politics staff writer Jesse Scheckner contributed to this report.
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