Insurance fraud is costing B.C. drivers hundreds of millions every year, according to the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC), which unveiled its ‘hall of shame’ on Wednesday.
A man who torched his vehicle then claimed it was stolen, a woman who embellished the extent of her injuries to collect two paycheques, and a man crying wolf to get out of doing the dishes — these are just some of the highlights found in ICBC's fraud files in 2015.
According to the authority, insurance fraud costs every B.C. driver more than $100 per year on their insurance policy, based on research that indicates 10 to 20% of auto insurance claims contain an element of fraud or exaggeration. That means, dishonest claims total up to as much as $600m each year in B.C.
Here are the top six cases that made the Hall of Shame 2015:
Dirty Dishes
From headaches to back pain, a man complained to ICBC that his injuries were so severe after a crash that he couldn't even help his wife with simple household chores, like washing the dishes. Yet shortly after his crash, investigators collected footage of him lifting box after box of heavy floor tiles at his work site. For his attempt to falsify his injuries, he was convicted of fraud, fined $1500, and is likely back on dish duty.
Double Dipping
A Vancouver woman involved in a collision claimed she was unable to return to work because of her injuries. After receiving an anonymous tip, investigators obtained evidence confirming that she had been working since the crash – effectively collecting two paycheques at once – one from her employer, and another from ICBC. For exaggerating the extent of her injuries, she was convicted and served with a one-year driving suspension as well as a $1750 fine.
Mom Caught in Cover-Up
A Vancouver Island mom reported that her Audi was stolen from her office's parking lot. She said that her sons were the only other people that had access to her vehicle, and confirmed both were at home. Later that day, police found her car in the Lower Mainland, abandoned and crashed into a chain link fence.
More evidence was exposed, poking holes in her statement. Witnesses saw a man flee the scene. Telephone records pegged one of her sons at the scene of the crash. Cameras at a B.C. Ferry terminal also caught the same son purchasing a ticket. Both were convicted of providing false statements. The mother was fined $2300, and the son received an $1150 fine and a one-year driving suspension. It turned out that his license was suspended at the time of the crash, so he was sentenced to 90 days in jail as well.
Dash Cam Disclosure
A Lower Mainland man claimed that when he was driving, another car veered into his lane and sideswiped his vehicle. Fortunately, his newly installed dash cam captured the entire incident. Unfortunately for him, the video also revealed he was riding shotgun and that his car was actually driven by someone else – an unlicensed driver – at the time of the crash. For providing a false statement about who was driving, his claim was denied.
Electronic Exposure
Technological advances mean your every moved is tracked by something. Not knowing foiled this man's scheme to cash in on a scam.
A Fraser Valley man reported his BMW missing from his driveway. Police found the car later that night, burnt to a crisp at a nearby park.
The man claimed that none of his keys were stolen, but this particular vehicle records each time a key fob is used. Investigators found that an original key fob was used to move the car shortly before it was ‘stolen’. The man was busted by his own car, and for that, his claim was denied.
Bus Blues
A bus struck a parked fire truck as it was making a turn around a transit exchange. After ensuring all the passengers were unharmed, the bus driver exchanged information with the fire truck driver. The bus driver returned to find a man waiting for him, claiming that he was on the bus and had been injured as a result of the collision. The man filed a claim to ICBC for compensation. However, security cameras at the bus terminal showed that the man was never on or near the bus at the time of the collision. The man was busted for fraud, ordered to pay a fine and spend a night in jail.
In 2015, ICBC said it opened approximately 7500 fraud investigations, which includes almost 5000 claims investigations. The work of its Special Investigations Unit led to a 98% conviction rate on all charges laid, resulting in approximately 550 fraud convictions from 2010 to 2015.
In addition to enhancing its Special Investigations Unit to include cyber probes and training frontline staff to detect fraud, in 2016, ICBC is exploring adding enhanced fraud software to its arsenal, a tool that will help to quickly flag patterns and high predictors of fraud at the beginning of the claims process.
