Insurance investigators in Connecticut said they are bracing for a rash of car arsons as the economy continues its downward spiral.
Police in Weston have charged a woman and her boyfriend, who are accused of torching her 2007 Camry to get out of her $500 monthly payments.
Investigators said the problem is only going to get worse.
"All the warning signs are in place for a national spark in auto arson," James Quiggle, a spokesman for the National Coalition Against Insurance Fraud in told the Hartford Courant. He said carmakers offered loans to just about anyone, creating the same problems that exist with mortgage lenders.
"The industry handed out loans like candy bars. Now we're seeing the fallout as people lose jobs and they owe more on the car than the vehicle is worth. Desperate people do desperate things," Quiggle said.
"Incidents of arson, like other crimes, are frequently linked to an economic downturn,' John Eager, senior director of claims for the Property Casualty Insures Association of America, told the U.S. Fire Administration. “The reasons are many: not only are auto thieves trying to destroy evidence, but also financially strapped people trying to get out of costly auto leases, even farmers torching expensive farm equipment in an attempt to collect on their insurance policy.'”
Officials from Connecticut's Department of Insurance Fraud told the Courant department officials would not be surprised if the state's 2008 numbers show an increase in auto insurance fraud cases.
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Those numbers come out later this year.
