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Insurance Fraud

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Identify It. Report it. Help Stop It.

Citizens is committed to fighting property insurance fraud as an integral part of our mission to serve the people of Florida.



What is Insurance Fraud?

Insurance fraud is a crime. Anyone who intentionally deceives an insurance company in order to receive money or other benefits to which they aren’t entitled, is committing insurance fraud. Making any written or oral statement as part of an insurance claim or application when you know the statement omits or conceals relevant information or contains false, incomplete or misleading information is fraud.

Insurance fraud is a serious crime:

  • Insurance fraud is the intentional use of deception to receive money or other benefits in an insurance transaction.
  • Insurance fraud is committed by all types of people at every level of society, not just by hardened criminals and organized crime rings.
  • A conviction for insurance fraud may result in imprisonment or other criminal penalties.
  • Insurance fraud is not a victimless crime.
  • Fraud causes higher insurance rates.

Each year, billions of dollars are lost to insurance fraud. According to the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, insurance fraud costs Americans at least $80 billion a year, nearly $950 per family.

Citizens has a responsibility to its policyholders, agents, employees and all Floridians to fight property insurance fraud. It's the right thing to do.

Citizens has a specialized team of investigators who detect and investigate fraud. This Special Investigations Unit constantly educates claims and underwriting staff about how to identify signs of fraud and assist agents with procedures for reporting suspected fraud.

Citizens' policies and procedures also are aligned with those of state and local law enforcement agencies to better prosecute those suspected of committing fraud.

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Report Fraud

Report Fraud

To report suspected property insurance fraud involving a Citizens policy or claim:

  • Call Citizens' Special Investigations Unit toll-free at 855.SIU.8596 (855.748.8596)
  • Submit a report online through the Report Suspected Fraud topic on our Contact Us page

To report suspected property insurance fraud that does not involve Citizens:

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Common property insurance fraud

  • Providing deceptive information as part of a claim about the cause or date of loss or property location
  • Knowingly inflating the value of damaged property on an otherwise legitimate claim
  • Intentionally damaging property to make a claim
  • Staging a burglary or theft and then falsely reporting a claim for stolen or damaged property
  • Asking a vendor to inflate a repair estimate or invoice by the deductible amount or more
  • Creating a false repair bill or receipt in support of a claim
  • Concealing the use of or misstating the value of a residence to an insurance agent to reduce an insurance premium
  • Submitting false information to or permitting false information to be submitted by an inspector in order to obtain a wind mitigation premium credit

Learn more about how you can: