The MPI has now released its list of the largest errors and attempted fraudulent claims from January through December.
A new list called the “top five frauds” has now been released by Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI), which shows the leading instances of insurance fraud that occurred within this Canadian province.
While interesting and amusing to some, it also places the spotlight on an ongoing problem in the insurance industry.
According to the MPI’s data, its own special investigations unit was able to discover approximately $7.5 million in insurance fraud in 2014. This, following an annual investigation rate of about 3,000 claims. Falsified and exaggerated claims are problematic in every sector of the insurance industry and people have started to become quite creative in the ways in which they will attempt to defraud an insurer in order to attempt to obtain a payout to which they are not legally entitled.
The following are the cases that made it onto the top 5 insurance fraud claims that occurred last year.
• Pickup truck set on fire – a man who later admitted that he was “just mad at the world” left a party, dumped gasoline onto the front seat of a brand new truck and tossed in a match and torched it. The man was burned on his arms and chest following an explosion. Co-workers who were present reported the man to MPI investigators. The man has now been convicted of arson and who has been required to pay a fine of $2,000.
• Stolen vehicle that was repossessed – MPI investigators discovered that an auto insurance claim that said that a vehicle was stolen out of a driveway was actually a case in which the vehicle was repossessed. The vehicle owner said that he didn’t realize that he was behind on his payments and was embarrassed by the mistaken claim – which was denied.
• A hailstorm of hammers – a damage claim of $10,000 for dents to a man’s car that were supposed to have been caused by a hailstorm were found by MPI investigators to have been created by a hammer, instead. The man has since taken back his claim.
• Falsely injured – a man made a fake statement about having been hurt in a minor collision was ordered to repay $12,000 to MPI and faced a fine of $1,000. At the scene, he told police officers that he wasn’t injured, but he later filed an injury claim with his insurance company. This insurance fraud temporarily brought him time off work and brought him a replacement income from the MPI.
