A national group of state lawmakers have approved a model lawmaking it a crime to stage car crashes and recruit for phony autoaccident rings.

The National Conference of Insurance Legislators unanimouslypassed a model bill at its summer meeting in Boston earlier thismonth.

The measure would among other things:

o Make it a crime to fake accidents on paper or to stageaccidents using vehicles.

o Make it a crime to recruit members of accident rings, or hirerecruiters.

o Limit outsider access to police accident reports, whichaccident gangs often use to target real accident victims for fakeor inflated medical treatment.

o Suspend the driver's license of anyone driving a vehicle tostage a crash.

“State lawmakers are signaling they realize prosecutors candismantle accident rings far more effectively with a targeted fraudlaw that helps them apply constant pressure against gang members incourt,” said Howard Goldblatt, director of government affairs forthe Coalition Against Insurance Fraud.

The NCOIL bill is based on a Coalition model and on fraud lawsin Florida and bills in New York. The New York measures have beenstymied by political dueling between Republicans, who control thestate Senate, and Democrats, who control the Assembly.

Mr. Goldblatt said staged accident rings steal several billiondollars in bogus injury claims a year around the U.S. “The problemis especially acute in urban areas, where large volumes of carcrashes and injury claims are plausible. This makes it easier tocamouflage bogus crashes and fake medical treatment,” he said.

He explained that many accident rings have 100 or more members,and are skilled at mass-producing fake injury claims worth hundredsof thousands of dollars. “Phony injury claims can be highlyprofitable,” Mr. Goldblatt said. “They can be equally hard toprosecute in court, but targeted fraud laws give prosecutorsleverage that can increase convictions.”