Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) is sharing details of its anti-fraud activity last year.
The insurer’s Special Investigation Unit (SIU) looked into about 1,400 cases of suspected fraud in 2018, a news release revealed. Thanks to the investigations, the insurer was saved from an estimated $5.6 million in fraudulent claims.
The provincial insurer also shared its top five insurance fraud claims for 2018:
D-N-Airbags – A vehicle’s keys were reportedly stolen, with the automobile itself crashed a few blocks away from the owner’s home. SIU, however, collected a DNA sample from the vehicle’s airbag which proved that the owner of the vehicle was behind the wheel during the crash. The claim was denied, and the vehicle’s owner was ordered to pay $15,000 in damages.
Cooking with gas – A customer claimed that their truck caught fire while idling in cold weather, but SGI denied the $28,000 claim. SIU found evidence that the owner had doused the interior of his truck with gas before deliberately setting it alight.
Caught on camera! – A vehicle had been involved in a hit-and-run collision, but the owner claimed that she was out of town when the accident happened, and that her vehicle was stolen. Eyewitness accounts and surveillance video proved otherwise, depicting the owner as a passenger in the vehicle when the collision happened. The owner later admitted that the vehicle was not stolen, and that the driver at the time of the crash lacked a license. SGI saved $60,000 by denying the claim.
Total burnout – A customer told SGI that their vehicle, which was found burnt, was stolen. However, the insurer received a video from a witness showing people leaving the scene of the burning vehicle. One person in the video was heard saying “Let it burn.” After examining the video, SIU determined that the fire was intentionally set, and SGI denied the $4,400 claim.
Doggone it – A driver claimed that they swerved their vehicle into a slough to avoid hitting a dog. But a video revealed that there was no dog involved – the driver intentionally drove their vehicle into the marsh. The driver was ordered to repay SGI $2,000.
