In its latest ForeCAST^SM analysis, the National Insurance Crime Bureau(NICB) reported a significant swell in both hail lossclaims and hail loss questionable claims (QCs). When NICB examined data ranging fromJanuary 1, 2006 to March 31, 2010, the organization found that thenumber of hail loss claims filed with insurers increased by 61percent -- from 256,000 in 2006 to more than 413,000 in 2009. Atthe same time, the number of claims referred to NICB for suspectedfraud rose by 136 percent (from 301 reported in 2006 to 711 in2009).

Divided into five sections, the report contains a comparativegeographic breakdown of both hail loss claims and QCs by each stateand conclusions based on the results. A total of 1,245,971 hailloss claims were identified during the designated timeframe. Thebrunt of hail loss claims occurred in the spring and summer months,between April and July. This is likely because of increased numbersof thunderstorms during this time period, noted NICB. Data alsosuggests that hail loss claims and QCs are most heavilyconcentrated in the central region of the U.S. However, seven ofthe top ten states with the highest hail loss QC-to-claim ratiofall outside of that area.

Texas led the pack in terms of total hail loss claims and QCs,with 298,798 claims and 521 QCs. The top ten states represented 75percent of the total hail losses and 82 percent of the QCs.Illinois had the highest ratio of hail loss QCs to claims, with 881hail loss QCs for every 1,000 hail loss claims. In other words,nearly nine of every 1,000 claims filed for hail loss were deemedsuspicious enough to forward to NICB for further investigation.

"These statistics back up what our agents have been experiencingin their field investigations," said Joe Wehrle, NICB president andCEO. "There are a lot of unscrupulous fly-by-night roofers andrepairmen who are what we call 'storm chasers.' They follow thestorms and deliberately try to rip off unsuspecting homeowners andtheir insurers by making unnecessary repairs or deliberatelyinflicting damage to a roof or siding to try to get insurancemoney."