NW Insurance Council offering up to $5,000 for reports of insurance fraud

While the National Insurance Crime Bureau is reporting that the 1992 Honda Accord is the most-stolen car in Oregon, the Northwest Insurance Council is reporting that - though many of the claims on these stolen vehicles are real - some are just plain fraud.

According to council reports, fraudulent claims on stolen cars cost the U.S. economy nearly $8 billion each year. Meanwhile, it calculates that the average insured household, including those in Oregon, ends up paying $200 to $300 more in insurance premiums to compensate insurance companies for fraudulent claims received each year.

Note that those who have their car stolen can report the vehicle theft under the comprehensive coverage portion of an auto insurance policy. (Though Oregon state law requires drivers to maintain certain automobile coverage, comprehensive coverage is not required by Oregon law.)

Insurance companies typically will cut a check for the replacement value of a vehicle in the event that it is stolen. If a vehicle is later recovered then the car, or the salvage, becomes the property of the insurance carrier.

The Northwest Insurance Council has asked KATU.com visitors who know anyone who has filed a false insurance claim to call its fraud hotline at 1 (800) 835-6422 or file an insurance-fraud report online. Those who do are reportedly eligible for up to a $5,000 reward from its Northwest Insurance Fraud Award Fund.

- KATU.com Producer/Reporter Jennifer Meacham contributed to this report.