Insurance fraud is the deliberate misleading of an insurer, whereby the fraudster aims to benefit himself unfairly. Insurance fraud comes in different degrees. Not all people who commit insurance fraud see themselves as fraudsters. After all, what difference does it make if you give an extra mobile phone to the insurer after the house has been broken into? Or if you also claim a few old dents when repairing a car? Yet these are all forms of insurance fraud.
Insurers take insurance fraud very seriously. They invest a lot of time in recognizing and tracing them. Have you been caught in insurance fraud? Then this can have serious consequences. For example, you must pay a standard fine, and a report can be made to the police. In addition, it will be more difficult to take out insurance in the future.
How does insurance fraud work?
There are different types of insurance fraud. We mention here a few examples:
- Insurance fraud when applying for insurance
When applying for insurance, someone needs to provide the correct information. An insurer always asks several acceptance questions before accepting an insurance application. For example, they ask whether your insurance has ever been canceled or refused by an insurer, whether you have ever had a driving disqualification, and whether you have a criminal record. If so, you should always answer ‘Yes’ to these questions. You are committing insurance fraud if you do not answer the questions truthfully.
- Claiming more damage than suffered
When reporting damage, someone passes on incorrect facts. After a burglary, for example, they report more items than were stolen. They exaggerate the actual damage or number of items stolen to get more compensation from their insurer.
- Pretending damage has been done or distorting facts.
For example, by reporting a lost laptop as stolen. The facts of the damage are also regularly distorted so that it falls within the insurance coverage.
- Intentionally causing damage
Insurers regularly experience that someone fakes a collision or drives into something on purpose. Insurers then have the task of demonstrating that it concerns fraud. A specialist will always come by to look at the case. They discover it quickly, for example, if you have broken a window in your home to stage a burglary. Especially if you smash the window from the inside, as often happens.
