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The issue in front of you is number seven. John Cooke is now one year old.
We’ve experienced many exciting things this first year, the most marked of which has been a change of our own attitude. Just twelve short months ago, sitting in front of this same computer screen and composing the first message from the editor, we really thought we knew everything there was to know about the world of insurance fraud. There were no new scams – we’d seen them all.
Hah! In retrospect, we realize just how naive that attitude was. We realize, too, that the sum total of our present insurance fraud knowledge pales in comparison to that which we do not know.
We receive lessons daily, and even sometimes hourly. They come by mail, phone, media exchange and facsimile. The information is rushing in to us like a raging river and with each new item, we are reminded once again of the enormity of the problem.
As a child learns many things during his first twelve months, so have we. The LH&A investigators are dueling with many of the same enemies facing the P&C investigators, yet direct communications between these sister industries are a rarity. Worse yet are the cases where a single insurance company will be simultaneously handling two claims for the same claimant, but because the lines of coverage (and authority) are not the same, the right hand (ie. a workers’ compensation adjuster) is not even aware of the existence of the left hand (ie. an auto liability adjuster, sitting at a desk across the room). We must communicate!
In coming issues, we are going to make a special effort to bridge the gap that exists within our industry. Often times, the enemies are the same. If Dr. Nogood is ripping off the workers’ compensation system, chances are he’s also defrauding health insurers and signing his name to bogus medical billings for staged auto claims. Single line crooks are a rarity.
We must educate! Employees are the first line of defense in the fight against insurance fraud. Future issues will be filled with as much useful information as our pages can hold. We’ll be continually making judgment calls to fill our available space, basing these calls on the ever-changing rhythm of the raging river.
Please note our new address. A one-year-old kid needs more room to roam – so we’ve signed a multi-year lease on larger quarters.
Fraud will not disappear.
We’re here for the long haul.
The John Cooke Fraud Report
“Fighting insurance fraud through communication and education”
© Copyright 1995 Alikim Media