(Woodland, CA) – April 30, 2015 – Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig announced that his Automobile Insurance Fraud Unit, in collaboration with the California Bureau of Automotive Repair, recently completed a series of compliance inspections of auto body repair businesses in the City of Woodland. Studies show that approximately 10 percent of property insurance claims are fraudulent. Insurance fraud directly affects consumers through higher premiums and inflated prices. The purpose of these inspections was to confirm that businesses are in compliance with the Automotive Repair Act and to ensure that insurance companies were not being charged for work that was not done.
Auto body repair businesses were asked to supply all documentation and related information for insurance claims submitted over a designated dollar amount. These files were forensically examined by experts from the Bureau of Automotive Repair. Selected vehicles that had been previously repaired were then inspected for possible fraudulent insurance claims. The District Attorney’s Office is pleased to report that these inspections did not reveal any instances of insurance fraud. Only a few minor Automotive Repair Act violations related to paperwork processing were noted. The affected businesses were counseled on the violations and allowed to correct them without fines or penalties.
The Yolo County District Attorney’s Office believes that every effort should be made to identify, investigate, and prosecute persons who commit automobile insurance fraud. We would like to inform consumers of a valuable “fraud fighting” service offered by the Bureau of Automotive Repair. If your vehicle has had collision repairs performed that you question, the Bureau of Automotive Repair has a no-cost Auto Body Inspection Program. Under this program, inspectors from the Bureau will inspect your vehicle at no cost to verify that the repairs listed on your invoice were done correctly. If problems are found, the Bureau will work with the shop to help get them resolved. To participate in this program call the Bureau of Automotive Repair toll free at (866)799-3811.
District Attorney Jeff Reisig stated “We are pleased to work in partnership with the Bureau of Automotive Repair to ensure a fair and competitive automotive repair marketplace for Yolo County.”
To report auto insurance fraud in Yolo County, call the fraud hotline at (855) 496-5632 or send email to fraud@yoloda.website-development.info/public_html.
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