A new effort in the province of Ontario has State Farm working with the official bureau to reduce scams.
State Farm and the auto Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) have just announced the start of a partnership for a new STOP AUTO FRAUD campaign that will run throughout the month of March in Ontario in order to provide drivers in the province with more information about the signs of fraud.
Vehicle claims fraud is currently estimated to cost the drivers in the province up to $1.6 billion per year.
As this month is Fraud Prevention Month, State Farm and the IBC have decided to work together to help to boost awareness about how common auto insurance fraud truly is. The campaign has a number of levels, including billboard ads and transit shelter posters throughout the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). It is hoping that consumers will not only take notice, but will also help to do their part in the fight to put it to a stop, by reporting suspicious activities to the right parties.
Auto insurance fraud is a serious and growing problem in the province and is costing honest drivers.
The types of auto insurance scams that are occurring in Ontario include everything from deliberately staging collisions in order to be able to file a fraudulent claim, to filing a legitimate claim but padding the numbers. A study performed in 2011 that looked into this issue estimated that residents of the province are paying an extra $770 million to $1.6 billion per year as a result of it.
According to State Farm senior vice president, Barbara Bellissimo, “Auto insurance fraud is not a victimless crime; its impact is felt by every driver in Ontario.” She added that the people of Ontario, Canada “can help eliminate insurance fraud and lower premiums by understanding what insurance fraud looks like and by reporting suspected cases to the IBC TIPS line, Crime Stoppers or their local police force.”
Among all of the types of fraudulent auto insurance claims that are being made, it is the staged collisions that are causing the largest challenge to law enforcement and insurers.
