Is the poor economy driving people to commit insurance fraud? While there has been considerable speculation within the insurance industry, law enforcement and the news media that money woes have forced some people to break the law in order to collect on insurance policies, to date, there has been no solid statistical evidence to back up that speculation (see also National Insurance Crime Bureau).

But a new report by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) clearly shows an increase in the number of questionable claims (QCs) related to possible cases of insurance fraud during the past year as the economy continued its downward spiral. An analysis of QCs submitted by the more than 1,000 NICB members companies in the first quarter of 2009, versus the first quarter of 2008, shows a definite increase in claims related to what is termed "opportunistic fraud."