Brokers can share some free advice with clients, as fraud prevention month gets an early start tonight with live-streamed presentations from some of the major players involved in targeting and eliminating insurance fraud in Canada.
“Fraud is a serious offense that affects us all,” says Kathy Metzger, an investigator with the Ontario Injury Rings Unit,
Insurance Bureau of Canada Investigative Services. “By being aware that it is there and we could all become a victim, is the first step to preventing or reducing fraud from occurring. By working together – the industry, the consumers, and the government – we may be able to make it more difficult for organized groups to make us victims.”
Metzger will zero in on the involvement of organized crime groups in staged collisions and fraudulent medical clinics and other service providers as part of the live streaming event, which will take place at a Toronto area school between 6 and 9 p.m.
Also participating to officially kick off ‘Don’t Be Scammed: Fraud Prevention Month 2014’ will be the Financial Services Commission of Ontario, Toronto Police Services and other organizations involved with fraud awareness.
The presentations are designed to alert Canadians on how they can protect themselves against different types of fraud; and brokers are encouraged to contact their book of clients to watch the social media outreach online and to follow the
#Don’tBeScammed hashtag starting today at 6 p.m. to obtain the live-stream link and to interact with event participants.
Later, IBC will host an online breakout session ‘Fraud: Amplifying a silent noise on social media’ from 7:30 - 8:30 p.m. According to a press release from the IBC, the session will inform interested members of the public about how to find information about insurance fraud, resources currently available to better educate yourself about fraudulent activity, and the process for reporting suspected incidents. (continued.)
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Insurance fraud has been identified as a huge problem in Canada. In 2012, the Ontario Automobile Insurance Anti-Fraud Task Force cited a study that estimated that automobile insurance fraud cost between $770 million to $1.6 billion per year in Ontario alone.
“Fraud is a crime of deception,” says Metzger. “Fraudulent claims are made to look like real claims, and when they are undetected, they are paid as real claims. Paid for from the premiums that you and I fund - and a key reason why honest policyholders pay more than they should for auto insurance.”
Metzger also points to the problem of opportunistic fraud, when a person makes exaggerated claims.
“These exaggerated claims are considered fraud and are definitely part of the problem,” she says. “But the issue we’re facing is far more than that.”
Other participants in Don’t Be Scammed include the Bank of Canada, Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, Canadian Health Care Anti-fraud Association, Competition Bureau, Crime Prevention Association of Toronto, Financial Services Commission of Ontario, Investigation Counsel, Investor Education Fund, Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada, National Initiative for the Care of the Elderly, Ontario Ministry of Consumer Services, Ontario Securities Commission, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Real Estate Council of Ontario, Toronto Catholic District School Board, Toronto Parks and Recreation, Toronto Police Service and Victim Services Toronto.
