Insurance fraud it costs northwest households between $200 and $300 each year in higher insurance premiums.

A recent study conducted by the National Insurance Crime Bureau shows property/casualty insurance fraud costs Americans nearly $30 billion each year. The Insurance Research Council says that fraud and inflating the value of claims added between $4.3 and $5.8 billion in auto injury settlements in 2002. The council also reports that nearly one-third of all bodily injury claims for auto accidents contained some kind of fraud.

"Some people say they don't care if insurance companies get ripped off," said Karl Newman, Northwest Insurance Council president. "What they're missing is that it's their own money. We all pay for insurance fraud in the form of higher rates."

Insurance fraud perpetrators steal from Americans in more ways than one. Not only does fraud cause higher insurance rates, it also leads to higher taxes and inflates prices for consumer goods. Keeping that money in your own pocket starts with understanding who commits insurance fraud, and why they do it.

Some insurance fraud crimes are elaborately planned schemes such as staged vehicle accidents complete with fake injuries or claiming phony injuries to collect disability, workers' compensation or personal injury settlements. Others are simply average citizens pretending a car was stolen or that a stereo system was a more expensive model than what was actually stolen from the vehicle.

Northwest Insurance Council and the insurance council offer these facts about insurance fraud:

- Insurance criminals are not easily identifiable. They typically don't carry guns or wear masks, but they can be just as damaging as other criminals.

- Insurance fraud can be committed by organized criminal enterprises, unscrupulous doctors and lawyers, dishonest body shop operators or even a neighbor or co-worker.

- Regardless of who they are, insurance fraud criminals are motivated by money and you can help stop them.

"The key thing to remember when we talk about insurance fraud is that we're talking about your money," Newman said. "I don't think anyone wants to pay a higher insurance bill every month so that others can file false claims and live the high life on payouts they don't deserve."