Terms Used In South Carolina Code 38-55-520

  • Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
  • insurance: includes annuities. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
  • Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
  • Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
The purpose of this article is to confront aggressively the problem of insurance fraud in South Carolina by facilitating the detection of insurance fraud; to allow reporting of suspected insurance fraud; to grant immunity for reporting suspected insurance fraud; to prescribe penalties for insurance fraud; to require restitution for victims of insurance fraud; to establish a division within the Office of the Attorney General to prosecute insurance fraud; and to require the investigation of alleged insurance fraud by State Law Enforcement Division.