Total loss: but some motor claims are not all they seem to be
Catch me if you can Motor insurance fraudsters go to great lengths to falsify claims, raising the stakes for insurers By Bernice Han
A
nthony has seen it all in his 20 years of investigating bogus motor insurance claims. He is familiar with just about every trick fraudsters have used to try to swindle insurers. Deliberately setting fire to a car. Conspiring to fake a crash late at night in an obscure unlit lane. Staging a car theft. Or even making up a tale about how a car ploughed into a tree – usually blamed on a kangaroo or some other animal appearing out of nowhere. “It never ceases to amaze me that some of these things have been going on for years,” says Anthony – who prefers to be known by his first name only. He is a senior investigator with Prime Investigations. “People seem to think they can get away with it because they don’t know the extent of the investigations that will be conducted,” he told Insurance News. “They don’t know the extent of what we can possibly find out. We can certainly uncover as much information as is available.” And finding out as much as is possible is what firms like Prime Investigations, which helps insurer clients with suspicious claims, excel in. Anthony says poring over every detail, big and small, leaving no stone unturned, is crucial. The information gathered will decide whether or not a claim is legitimate. Take as an example a collision. A claimant says he
was travelling at about 60 kmh when a car emerged without warning from a side street and hit the rear end of his vehicle. Anthony says there are several ways to verify if the accident was premeditated. A check of the tyres of both cars for skid marks will give an indication of the speed the vehicles were travelling at and the point of impact. Signs of recent dents are another area of interest to investigators. “Quite often when they’re staged, a lot of the damage is already pre-done,” Anthony said. “Where they come unstuck is that the damage they do at the accident scene does not line up with the damage that was previously done. “The damage needs to be consistent with the claim. It has happened many times where they make a claim and it’s just not consistent.” Insurance fraud is a huge problem for the industry globally. Financial gain is the usual motivation. In the US, the Federal Bureau of Investigation estimates fraudulent acts to deceive insurers cost more than $US40 billion a year. Of course, it also ends up hurting the hip pockets of the average American insurance buyer, who pays some $US400-700 more in premiums annually. In Australia motor insurance fraud is equally concerning. Insurance Council of Australia (ICA)
insuranceNEWS
October/November 2020
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