There is nothing funny about insurance fraud that costs insurance companies and honest policy holders.
But sometimes people cannot help but laugh at some of the scams and schemes of would-be fraud artists.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada has collected some true stories of recent claims that left investigators shaking their heads.
The Repo man
The driveway was empty and the car was gone. That part of the man’s story was indeed true. He had reported that his car had been stolen and filed a claim.
But something didn’t seem quite right so the investigator got in touch with the finance company that the man had used to buy the car. That company told a different story.
The man had failed to make payments so the finance company had repossessed it and towed it away – a fact the man failed to mention to the insurance company.
Claim denied.
Oh deer – or post
It was apparently a long and winding road filled with all kinds of hazards and a few lies.
A man told the insurance company he had hit a deer and claimed that his car was badly damaged. Then his story changed.
Maybe it wasn’t a deer, he said; it could have been a rabbit or even a groundhog. The investigator thought they must have some pretty big rabbits and groundhogs in those parts.
Well, said the man, maybe it was a fence or a post. How a fence or a post jumped out onto the road was never made clear.
Claim denied.
Up in smoke
At first it had all the hallmarks of an all-too-familiar tragedy. A family had lost all its worldly possessions in a house fire. The husband, the wife and daughter all said they had no idea how it started.
The first clue came from a neighbour. He had spotted smoke coming from the house and ran over to check that there was no one inside. He also remembered seeing the wife’s car pull away shortly before the smoke appeared.
Two weeks earlier, it turned out, she had stopped by her insurance agent’s office to check that the policy was up to date and paid for.
Charges pending. Claim denied.
The camera never lies
The traffic was stop and go on one of Canada’s busiest highways. The man said he was stopped when he was rear ended by the car behind him, and he filed a claim for the damage.
Unfortunately for him, the car behind had a camera mounted on the dashboard. The recording clearly showed the claimant actually reversing his car and hitting the car behind him.
He then gets out to examine the damage he’s caused. There was significant News coverage of the event.
Claim denied. Charges laid.
For fraud prevention tips, visit the website at ibc.ca, the blog at getintheknow.ibc.ca.
