SGI details top insurance fraud cases of 2023

March is Fraud Prevention Month, and SGI is marking the occasion by highlighting five notable cases of insurance fraud from 2023.

“Fighting insurance fraud is important because it helps keep the cost of insurance down for customers,” the Crown insurer said in a statement. “Unfortunately, there are people who work hard to deceive their insurance company, and SGI works just as hard to stop fraudulent insurance claims.”

Missing keys, or impaired driving?

In the first case, SGI said a woman reported her vehicle stolen, claiming she misplaced her keys.

According to SGI, police had a complaint of a possible impaired driver who had struck three parked cars and abandoned the vehicle.

“When police arrived on scene, the keys had been removed from the vehicle and there was no one around. The vehicle smelled heavily of alcohol and was full of empty bottles,” SGI explained.

A few months later, a tip called in to SGI reported that the woman was telling her friends she had hit three parked vehicles while intoxicated, and reported her vehicle stolen the next day.

When she was confronted, SGI said she admitted she fabricated the claim to avoid an impaired driving charge.

The claim was denied, which SGI said led to about $50,000 in savings.

Because she was impaired and made a false statement, SGI said the woman was left on the hook for the damage to the three parked cars.

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Woman fakes jewelry theft and fakes replacement

A woman who was out of the country on vacation made a claim saying $90,000 worth of jewelry and other items were stolen from the backseat of her vehicle outside a restaurant.

She purchased replacement jewelry while on vacation and submitted a claim, but SGI said a lengthy investigation determined the sale invoices were fake.

“Investigators began to suspect that the theft never occurred, and she did not purchase any replacement jewelry at all,” SGI said.

The claim was denied, which SGI said saved $90,000.

Vandalizing your own vehicles?

SGI said an anonymous tipster reported seeing a man vandalize a vehicle he was towing, and the tip said the man was actually the vehicle’s owner.

According to SGI, three different claims came in with a lot of similarities, and all three owners were related.

“Investigators concluded the vehicles were intentionally damaged to commit fraud,” SGI said. “When confronted with these findings, all three decided to withdraw their claims, saving SGI $13,000.”

Vehicle reported stolen hadn’t moved in months

A man reported his vehicle was stolen while he was out shopping, but SGI had some questions about his story.

Later, a tip came in reporting the location of the vehicle, and an investigation determined the owner left it parked at the same spot for months before reporting it stolen.

The owner was charged with fraud and public mischief, SGI said, and he was ordered to repay $4,300.

Burglary claim didn’t add up

A woman reported a break-in at her home, but SGI said the list of items she reported damaged and stolen “looked more like someone had moved, compared to what is typically seen in a legitimate break-and-enter case.”

She couldn’t provide any receipts, SGI said, claiming her folders of important papers had also been stolen.

“Several inconsistencies were uncovered by the SIU Investigator,” SGI said. “Notably, the quantity and kind of food supplies listed didn’t correspond with the size of the deep freezer seen in photos.”

She also claimed there were items that had been in the garage, but SGI said the investigator found there wasn’t any garage on the property.

Witnesses, including the woman’s landlord, said they didn’t believe a break-in had occurred, and said they saw the woman listing lots of items for sale on Facebook Marketplace.

She abandoned her claim when confronted, which SGI said resulted in savings of $85,000.

“When making insurance claims, the important thing to do is always be honest,” SGI said.