Insurance broker fraud is prevalent in the United States, with more and more high profile schemes being discovered in all areas of the country. One common insurance broker fraud scheme involves kickback payments from an insurance company to an insurance broker, in exchange for steering clients to purchase more expensive and/or comprehensive insurance policies, by using inflated or false price quotes. As a result, consumers may purchase overpriced insurance, or more insurance than is really necessary for their needs and situations. Plus, stockholders of the insurance brokerage firm also may incur damages as a result of such a fraudulent scheme; negative news coverage of a company's fraud can result in almost immediate decreases in stock prices, as well as decreased profitability of the company once the fraud is revealed, and kickbacks are no longer being paid. In such a case, both consumers who purchased insurance and stockholders of the brokerage firms may have valid fraud claims under state and/or federal securities laws, and thus may want to consult an attorney for further advice.