Insurance Fraud Bills Await Vote In Pennsylvania General Assembly

State Insurance Commissioner Joel Ario says when people defraud insurance companies, they're actually stealing money from other policy holders.

While a three-person anti-fraud unit works out of his office, Ario says it's the companies that are on the front lines of the fight. That's why he favors legislation that would require insurers to report fraud findings on all, not just some, lines of insurance. "I think it would be good for us to see what's going on in each of the lines of insurance. Shouldn't take much for the insurers to report on all of the lines since they already have the activity going on out there," says Ario.

Sam Marshall, president of the Insurance Federation of Pennsylvania, says he's not in favor of stepped-up reporting requirements. "I don't think that addresses any real problem. I think that resources are better used in terms of giving law enforcement more tools to go after fraud and giving insurance companies more tools to go after fraud."

Marshall and Ario agree that legal immunity should be granted for conversations insurers have among one another as they work together to identify policy abuse.