A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 38-55-171 SO AS TO CREATE THE FELONY CRIMINAL OFFENSES OF STAGING A MOTOR VEHICLE COLLISION AND AGGRAVATED STAGING A MOTOR VEHICLE COLLISION, AND TO PROVIDE PENALTIES; BY AMENDING SECTION 38-55-520, RELATING TO THE PURPOSE OF THE OMNIBUS INSURANCE FRAUD AND REPORTING IMMUNITY ACT, SO AS TO DESIGNATE THE DIVISION PREVIOUSLY ESTABLISHED TO PROSECUTE AND INVESTIGATE FRAUD IN THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AS BEING IN THE DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE; BY AMENDING SECTION 38-55-530, RELATING TO DEFINITIONS IN THE OMNIBUS INSURANCE FRAUD AND REPORTING IMMUNITY ACT, SO AS TO REVISE DEFINITIONS; BY AMENDING SECTION 38-55-540, RELATING TO CRIMINAL PENALTIES IN THE OMNIBUS INSURANCE FRAUD AND REPORTING IMMUNITY ACT, SO AS TO INCLUDE ATTEMPTS TO RECEIVE CERTAIN ECONOMIC ADVANTAGES OR BENEFITS; BY AMENDING SECTION 38-55-550, RELATING TO CIVIL PENALTIES IN THE OMNIBUS INSURANCE FRAUD AND REPORTING IMMUNITY ACT, SO AS TO ADD A STATUTE FOR WHICH VIOLATIONS WILL BE SUBJECT TO THE CIVIL PENALTIES, AND TO MAKE VARIOUS TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING CHANGES; BY AMENDING SECTION 38-55-560, RELATING TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE INSURANCE FRAUD DIVISION AND PROVIDE THE POWERS, DUTIES, AND FUNCTIONS OF THE DIVISION AND RELATED STATE AGENCIES, SO AS TO TRANSFER THE DIVISION FROM THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO THE DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE, AND TO REVISE THE POWERS, DUTIES, AND FUNCTIONS OF THE DIVISION AND RELATED AGENCIES; BY AMENDING SECTION 38-55-570, RELATING TO NOTIFICATION TO THE DIVISION OF CERTAIN FRAUDULENT CONDUCT, SO AS TO MAKE CONFORMING CHANGES TO REFLECT THE TRANSFER OF THE INSURANCE FRAUD DIVISION OF THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO THE DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE, AND TO REMOVE AN EXCEPTION TO A DISCOVERY PROVISION, AMONG OTHER THINGS; BY AMENDING SECTION 38-55-590, RELATING TO THE ANNUAL REPORT BY THE DIRECTOR OF THE INSURANCE FRAUD DIVISION IN THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, SO AS TO MAKE CONFORMING CHANGES TO REFLECT THE TRANSFER OF THE INSURANCE FRAUD DIVISION OF THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO THE DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE; BY AMENDING SECTION 17-25-45, RELATING TO LIFE SENTENCES FOR PERSONS CONVICTED OF CERTAIN CRIMES, SO AS TO ADD AND REVISE CERTAIN INSURANCE-RELATED CRIMES; BY AMENDING SECTION 42-9-440, RELATING TO SUSPECTED FALSE STATEMENTS OR MISREPRESENTATIONS TO BE REPORTED TO THE INSURANCE FRAUD DIVISION, SO AS TO MAKE CONFORMING CHANGES TO REFLECT THE TRANSFER OF THE INSURANCE FRAUD DIVISION OF THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO THE DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 14-7-1630, RELATING TO SUBJECT MATTERS OF THE STATE GRAND JURY, SO AS TO INCLUDE CERTAIN CRIMES INVOLVING INSURANCE FRAUD.
H4784 revises South Carolina’s insurance fraud laws in a broad, omnibus way. The bill creates two new felony offenses: staging a motor vehicle collision and aggravated staging a motor vehicle collision. Staging a collision is defined to include causing, attempting to cause, participating in, or falsely reporting a crash for the purpose of filing a fraudulent claim or obtaining value. The aggravated offense applies when the staged collision results in bodily injury or death, and the bill sets escalating penalties, including mandatory minimum prison terms, fines, and restitution to victims and affected third parties.
The bill also makes extensive changes to the Omnibus Insurance Fraud and Reporting Immunity Act. It revises definitions, expands criminal penalties to cover attempts to obtain economic benefits, broadens civil penalty provisions, and updates reporting and confidentiality rules. It transfers the Insurance Fraud Division from the Office of the Attorney General to the Department of Insurance, while preserving coordination with SLED and the Attorney General’s office for investigation and prosecution. The bill also updates annual reporting requirements and expands the subject matter jurisdiction of the state grand jury to include insurance fraud-related crimes.
The bill would amend multiple sections of Title 38 and related criminal statutes, including insurance fraud reporting, penalties, restitution, and agency authority. It would place the Insurance Fraud Division within the Department of Insurance rather than the Office of the Attorney General, while continuing to authorize assistant attorneys general, SLED investigations, and interagency cooperation. It also adds staging a motor vehicle collision and aggravated staging to the list of serious offenses for sentencing purposes and expands state grand jury jurisdiction to cover insurance fraud and related conduct. Insurers, claimants, policyholders, medical providers, employers, and other participants in insurance transactions would be affected by the broader fraud definitions, reporting obligations, and penalties.
No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no direct evidence of debate or formal support/opposition in the available context. Based on the bill text, the measure appears to be framed as a strong anti-fraud enforcement bill with enhanced penalties and agency tools. Its overall tone is punitive and enforcement-oriented, suggesting likely support from fraud investigators, insurers, and public safety advocates, though the available record does not show how legislators responded.
The main policy questions raised by the bill are institutional and punitive. One point of contention is the transfer of the Insurance Fraud Division from the Attorney General’s office to the Department of Insurance, which changes administrative control while still relying on the Attorney General and SLED for prosecution and investigation. Another likely issue is the breadth of the new offense definitions and the expanded criminal and civil penalties, especially the mandatory minimum sentences and the inclusion of attempts, aiding, abetting, and conspiracy. The restitution provisions and expanded reporting duties may also be debated by insurers, defense interests, and agencies that would bear compliance or investigative costs.