The local author of “You Paid for This” looks into insurance crimes
Coral Springs, Florida – The first nonfiction book written by award-winning author Richard Wickliffe is titled You Paid for This: My 25 Years Investigating Insurance Crimes.
Wickliffe offers a thorough examination of the frequently hidden realm of insurance fraud and its extensive effects, drawing on his twenty years of experience leading investigative teams for one of the biggest insurance companies in the world.
After attending Florida Atlantic University and Coral Springs High School, Wickliffe spent more than 45 years in the city before relocating to Deerfield Beach. He worked for Special Investigation Units (SIUs), which are teams entrusted with identifying and resolving fraudulent insurance claims.
Among the many examples he describes in his book are burglaries, art thefts, arson-for-profit schemes, and incidents involving organized crime and human trafficking. Wickliffe also discusses the employment of SIUs in high-profile cases, like the kidnapping and extortion-related Miami Pain & Gain double-murder probe.
The book examines the intricacies of these investigations and offers a true description of how insurance fraud functions, according to the author. Wickliffe covers both ordinary and unusual situations, like how criminal activity might be concealed by submerged cars and the difficulties in identifying staged deaths.
The author claims that You Paid for This is a useful tool for learning about the effects that insurance fraud has on both the market and consumers. The book gives background information on how these crimes affect insurance rates and lists steps people can take to safeguard themselves against fraud.
Law enforcement and insurance professionals have endorsed the book. Glenn Shapiro, the retired president of Allstate Insurance Company, highlighted the financial toll that fraud takes on consumers, while John Askins, the former director of Florida’s Division of Insurance Fraud, called it “entertaining and informative.” Retired National Insurance Crime Bureau Supervisory Special Agent Fred Burkhardt emphasized the book’s teaching usefulness by pointing out its emphasis on the social and economic repercussions of insurance fraud.
