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Legislative bills

VA Claim Sharks Effective Warnings Act Introduced to Protect Veterans

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

U.S. Senator Angus King, a member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, has introduced legislation to prevent unaccredited claims representatives, also known as "claim sharks," from defrauding veterans of their benefits. Claim sharks charge veterans fees, often between $5,000 and $20,000, to help them file initial VA benefits claims, a service that is supposed to be free to veterans. The VA Claim Sharks Effective Warnings Act would require the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to more effectively warn veterans about unaccredited claims representatives by posting warnings on public-facing websites and discouraging veterans from sharing their VA account or bank account log-in credentials.

Key Takeaways:

  • The VA Claim Sharks Effective Warnings Act would require the VA to post warnings on its public-facing websites to inform veterans about unaccredited claims representatives.
  • Claim sharks charge veterans fees, usually between $5,000 and $20,000, to help them file initial VA benefits claims.
  • The VA is currently required to warn veterans about unaccredited claims representatives on its websites, but only after veterans log in to their VA benefits accounts.
  • Senators Sheldon Whitehouse, Jeanne Shaheen, and Peter Welch joined Senator King in introducing the legislation.
  • Senator King has worked to ensure America's veterans receive their earned benefits and has cosponsored the Governing Unaccredited Representatives Defrauding (GUARD) VA Benefits Act.
  • The legislation aims to protect veterans from predatory companies and ensure they receive their earned benefits.

Statistics:

  • Fees charged by claim sharks: $5,000 to $20,000
  • Proportion of veterans who may not see the warning due to limited reach: Unknown
  • Number of veterans affected by claim sharks: Not specified
  • Cost of filing initial VA benefits claims: Free to veterans

Sources:

  • U.S. Senator Angus King press release (no date or publication date provided).
  • The full text of the bill is available here (no date or publication date provided).

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