Cummings seeks probe into war zone claims

WASHINGTON, April 22 (UPI) -- Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., has called for an inquiry into insurance claims made by federally contracted U.S. civilians working in war zones.

Reacting to media reports concerning the difficulties returning civilian contracts have when filing claims, Cummings, a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform requested an investigation in a letter to committee Chairman Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.

The newspaper and the non-profit journalism group ProPublica had reported that American International Group Inc., which handles nearly 90 percent of all compensation cases for U.S. workers in foreign war zones, routinely challenged insurance claims made by returning civilians.

The Labor Department said 44 percent of all serious claims and about 60 percent of claims for mental health services were denied to returning contractors.

Casualties among civilian workers in Iraq total more than 1,400 civilian dead and 31,000 injured, the newspaper said.

Civilian workers "should able to return to their families without having to wage another battle here at home to receive the healthcare they are more than entitled to receive," Cummings said in his request for an official inquiry.

In a statement, AIG said the "vast majority" of claims were processed without dispute, the Times said.