To kick off Fraud Prevention Month, Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) recently announced that it and its ratepayers have saved millions of dollars due to its ongoing efforts to root out insurance fraud.

The insurer revealed Friday that thanks to the efforts of its Special Investigation Unit, it managed to save itself and its customers a total of $31.6m from 2012 to 2015, Winnipeg Sun reported.

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This year’s Fraud Prevention Month is the 13th anniversary of the yearly education and awareness campaign. During this month-long event, consumers are encouraged to identify, refuse, and report fraud in all its forms.

“These financial savings are based on a reconciliation of money recovered and fraudulent claims denied,” said MPI vice-president for Loss Prevention and Communications Ward Keith. “These fraud savings directly benefit insurance rate payers, and result from a dedicated focus on investigating potential fraudulent claims that may involve vehicle fires, hit and run claims or staged collisions.”

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MPI’s Special Investigation Unit, comprised mostly of retired police officers, investigates nearly 3,000 suspicious claims each year. The insurer also coordinates with police agencies in the investigation of fraud and maintains a dedicated TIPS line for informants to pass information through.

“The bottom line is that insurance fraud costs everyone so we encourage all Manitobans to come forward through our TIPS Line to report suspected auto insurance fraud and speak out against this kind of illegal behavior,” Keith said. “All calls are anonymous.”

Keith added that MPI continues to review its anti-fraud strategies to ensure it is always one step ahead of fraudsters.


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