The North Carolina Department of Insurance has hired 15 new agents to fight a rising tide of insurance fraud.

Mike Causey

The state's General Assembly last year appropriated $2.4 million to hire the agents after fraud arrests jumped to 334 in 2017, a 60% increase from the previous year, state Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey said in news release. Each month, the department receives 400 to 500 fraud complaints, Causey said.

The new agents were trained at the department's anti-fraud academy and include a crime analyst, forensic accountant, attorneys and special agents.

Last year, the department recovered more than $14 million from fraud investigations, and Causey said he expects that number to rise this year.  

Fraud adds as much as 20% to the cost of insurance, the department noted.