Reporting insurance fraud, a dilemma?

Withholding information, or lying, when applying for insurance

Insurers ask underwriting questions when applying for insurance. These questions are designed to determine whether they will accept or reject an insurance application. Examples of underwriting questions are:

• Have you ever been disqualified from driving?
• Has an insurance company ever cancelled or denied your insurance before?
• As a suspect, have you been in contact with the police or justice system in the past eight years?

These questions should be answered truthfully. Of course, the reasons for lying are obvious; the lies increase the probability of acceptance. When a person cannot get insurance from a regular insurance company, it means paying a higher premium elsewhere anyway. Not answering underwriting questions honestly falls under insurance fraud.

Causing damage intentionally

Intentionally causing damage to get compensation is a common occurrence. Examples include staging a collision, intentionally hitting a pole with the car, or even a robbery. If you suspect that someone has intentionally caused a claim, you can always report it, and an investigation into insurance fraud will be started by the insurer.

Claiming more damage than there actually is

The people guilty of this have actually suffered damage, only they add to it themselves. Think of claiming more than was stolen in a burglary, or claiming old damage to a car as new damage after an accident. It can be seen as a bonus; after all, the insurance company has to pay out an amount anyway. Why not increase that amount by a few additional items? By the way, these two types of fraud are the most common.

Lying about damages suffered or distorting facts

Reporting a claim to the insurer when there is actually something else going on. For example, reporting a lost phone as stolen, or reporting a car that is just sitting somewhere out of sight as being stolen. What also happens is that people make a second attempt. Where a claim was first rejected based on the policy conditions, they submit the claim again but with a different story that does fall within the coverage. The result is that the insurer still has to pay out.

How do I report insurance fraud?

If you think you recognize insurance fraud, you can report it (anonymously) to the Insurance Fraud Control Center (CBV) of the Dutch Association of Insurers. The purpose of the CBV is to help insurers combat insurance crime. The e-mail address is: cbv@verzekeraars.nl but you can also contact it by phone at number: 070-3338500.