Insurance Fraud Costs Everyone

Insurance Fraud Costs Everyone

The true costs of insurance fraud can be difficult to determine, as the best fraud is when no one suspects fraud at all. It’s difficult to estimate exactly how many of all the insurance claims in Ontario are fraudulent, though the Ontario government’s Anti-Fraud Task Force cites a 2010 KPMG study estimate saying fraud costs insurers in Ontario between $770 million and $1.6 billion in 2010.

That averaged out to between $116 and $236 per policy that year, putting innocent drivers on the hook for hundreds of dollars every year in Ontario, considered the staged-collision capital of Canada.

The good news is, anti-fraud teams are now able to used pooled data and analytics to better track repeat fraudulent claims – from body shops and towing companies who over quote storage fees, staged accident teams with suspiciously similar and frequent collisions, healthcare claims for injuries that don’t match accident details and simple over-claims filed in the hopes that they’ll be paid without investigation.

All these things add up to significant costs for insurance policy holders – every fraudulent claim caught by anti-fraud teams is a win for consumers in the long run. Should you ever find yourself a victim in an auto accident that appear suspicious, be sure to mention it in your claim.