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Committee advances bill to tighten prosecution and consumer protections for post‑disaster insurance fraud
Summary
Senate Bill 153, sponsored by Sen. Greg Elkins, passed the House Banking and Insurance Committee with provisions to criminalize property vandalism used to generate insurance claims, create a post‑disaster contractor registry, ban door‑to‑door solicitation during declared emergencies and give the Attorney General concurrent jurisdiction to prosecute such fraud.
Senator Greg Elkins told the House Standing Committee on Banking and Insurance that Senate Bill 153 aims to close gaps that allow post‑disaster insurance fraud to go unprosecuted.
"The primary function of Senate Bill 153 is to address some of the fraudulent activities involving insurance claims here in the Commonwealth," Elkins said, and described measures including a post‑disaster registry for contractors and a prohibition on door‑to‑door solicitation during declared emergencies.
The bill clarifies that vandalism committed to create a false insurance claim constitutes insurance fraud and would allow the Attorney General to exercise concurrent jurisdiction with county and commonwealth attorneys in prosecuting those crimes, proponents said. Chris Lewis of the Attorney General’s office testified that earlier reporting and added prosecutorial capacity should enable quicker enforcement and reduce long chains of uncollectible judgments in cases where companies declare bankruptcy after alleged wrongdoing.
Representative Gber described personal experience with an unlicensed contractor who offered a free roofing inspection, allegedly removed shingles to create a claim and then subcontracted the work to low‑quality providers. "When my wife and I bought our current home, a nice gentleman came by door‑to‑door offering us a free roofing inspection. It turns out that while inspecting our roof, he was ripping off shingles in order to make a qualified claim," Gber said.
Committee members pressed how the bill would change prosecutorial practice. Senator Elkins and Attorney General staff said the statute would create concurrent jurisdiction and that a budget request includes adding a prosecutor in the consumer protection division to pursue these matters and train civil attorneys to handle criminal prosecutions when needed.
Representative Smith moved the bill and Representative Bray seconded. The committee recorded an affirmative vote and Chair Meredith announced Senate Bill 153 passed the committee with a favorable recommendation to the House floor.
Next steps: the bill will be scheduled for action on the House floor for further consideration.
