Howard Schneider, licensed Private Investigator and public speaker on insurance fraud, announced skip tracing techniques that provide the insurance industry with ethical and legal methods to locate anyone.

"Despite a flurry of legislative restrictions, a good private investigator can still find a witness/insured, with use of the proper tools," said Schneider.

A skip trace is the method by which investigators use to locate individuals or businesses.

"In the insurance industry it is particularly important to find individuals for trial or formal depositions," he said.

Schneider went on to state, "We pride ourself on maintaining the most sophisticated databases in the nation. These systems have assisted in locating thousands of individuals across the world," said Schneider.

My particular speciality is the skip trace and I personally investigate each and every case that comes through our office. Each case is different and offers different challenges," he said.

Schneider went onto to detail what information is helpful for any investigator to be successful.

1. SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER: Databases can cross reference these numbers to determine where the party has last lived and possible names of other parties they lived with. In addition the first 3 numbers of the social can cross reference what state it was issued in, thus helping to narrow the search.
2. PROPERTY: These records indicate property they may currently own or past property with names of present owners. Present owners many times will know something about the past owner that can help in finding the party.
3. LAST KNOWN ADDRESS : While the party may have moved databases can list current neighbors close to the last known address with phone numbers that may know the whereabouts of the individual.
4. DATE OF BIRTH: An uncommon name may be found by the use of one search. On the other hand, John Smith may be impossible but with a date of birth or even a year of birth, a good investigator can narrow the subjects location.
5. MIDDLE INITIAL: Sometimes this is overlooked but here again, John A. Smith born in 1952 is more helpful than John Smith without the middle name.
6. VITAL STATISTICS: Any info regarding the family, wife or husband name, kids name, type of business they are involved in, can only make the investigators job easier. "For instance, John Smith in Michigan maybe difficult to find but John Smith in Michigan who was a licensed plumber is much easier to locate," said Schneider.

To learn more about these methods or if you have a general question regarding this or any other matter, contact Howard Schneider. Mr. Schneider is a member of the CALI, SCFIA, and AFA professional organizations.