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There is no such thing as a little fraud There are big lies and little lies, but insurance fraud can be anything from claiming two or three extra CD’s being stolen from your car, to claiming large sums of tools stolen from your garage, to falsifying an injury in order to collect weekly indemnity benefits. Each year, insurance fraud costs Canadians $3 billion. That means 10 to 15 cents of every dollar you pay as premium is used to cover fraudulent insurance claims. Insurance fraud really does cost everyone. Common types of fraud or attempted fraud include: Lying about the way a loss occurred. Adding items or inflating the value of items in a claim. Filing fraudulent automobile accident or damage claims (i.e., including previously existing damage when submitting a claim). Withholding information about past accidents, traffic convictions, claims, policy cancellations or non-renewals. Receiving payments for treatments not received. If you are caught committing or attempting to commit insurance fraud: Your claim will be denied. Your insurance policy might be cancelled outright. You may pay higher premiums in the future. You may be denied insurance in the future. More importantly, the offence is punishable on conviction, by a maximum of 10 years imprisonment for cases involving an amount over $5,000 or otherwise a maximum of two years imprisonment. Insurance fraud costs all of us in the form of higher premiums. If someone you know is committing insurance fraud on a home, car or business policy, you can report it to CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS. If your tip helps the police or your insurance company catch an insurance fraud, you may be eligible for a cash reward – your call will remain completely anonymous. Copyright © 2006, Insurance Brokers Association Ontario. All Rights Reserved. |
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