The units have sprung up to counter corporate losses due to fraud and the restrictions imposed on the industry by government regulations. Because fraud cases are rarely brought to court, these fraud investigation units operate as a kind of private police. They exchange information with the public police and other companies and circumvent judicial control, often using investigative procedures which would render the evidence they collect inadmissible in court. Recent legislation has strengthened their power and cut off avenues of redress once available to wronged policyholders. Footnotes, about 30 references, and 4 statute citations are included. (Author abstract modified)