by evan » Thu Feb 09, 2006 04:48 am
The term 'Insurance' gets identified by many of us, as a tool to safeguard human lives from certain unknown hazards. Although Insurance has a far reaching effect with all its different facets, it has become increasingly important to know how it invites a handful of identical malpractices. These frauds come up following two important perspectives
i) When people dupe an insurance company or agent to collect money which is not their own, and
ii) when insurers and brokers delude consumers or even each other. People get tempted to mock imaginary situations or events, in order to obtain money from their insurers.
A car owner might distort the actual distance covered by him per year, to lower his auto premium...A homeowner might fabricate the worth of jewelry stolen during a robbery. People often feel its safe to fabricate events to their insurance companies, but it raises everyone's insurance costs in return.
Malpractices could affect our claims payments, turning them into higher insurance premiums overnight. Therefore it has become an absolute necessity, to know the exact coverage for our assets before we file a claim, lest we might fall victims to unscrupulous agents. It is also important to remember that the premiums we pay today are based on our individual claims history and hence they are proportional to the degrees of risk involved.
The insurance providers have developed peculiar strategies to exaggerate their services in their statements. In order to ensure a true and fair view of all the services availed by us, we need to review their statements carefully and contact our insurance providers immediately, incase of any discrepancy. The government insurance departments also offer consumer guides for auto, boat, homeowners, life, commercial, travel, disability and health insurance that provide sample premiums for insurers who offer these coverages.
Henceforth, to move one step ahead in life, we ought to be cautious and absolutely confident of the different forms of insurance available in the world market today. Its high time that we realise that we can't really afford to shower a greater part of our earnings as insurance premiums.
Evan.
i) When people dupe an insurance company or agent to collect money which is not their own, and
ii) when insurers and brokers delude consumers or even each other. People get tempted to mock imaginary situations or events, in order to obtain money from their insurers.
A car owner might distort the actual distance covered by him per year, to lower his auto premium...A homeowner might fabricate the worth of jewelry stolen during a robbery. People often feel its safe to fabricate events to their insurance companies, but it raises everyone's insurance costs in return.
Malpractices could affect our claims payments, turning them into higher insurance premiums overnight. Therefore it has become an absolute necessity, to know the exact coverage for our assets before we file a claim, lest we might fall victims to unscrupulous agents. It is also important to remember that the premiums we pay today are based on our individual claims history and hence they are proportional to the degrees of risk involved.
The insurance providers have developed peculiar strategies to exaggerate their services in their statements. In order to ensure a true and fair view of all the services availed by us, we need to review their statements carefully and contact our insurance providers immediately, incase of any discrepancy. The government insurance departments also offer consumer guides for auto, boat, homeowners, life, commercial, travel, disability and health insurance that provide sample premiums for insurers who offer these coverages.
Henceforth, to move one step ahead in life, we ought to be cautious and absolutely confident of the different forms of insurance available in the world market today. Its high time that we realise that we can't really afford to shower a greater part of our earnings as insurance premiums.
Evan.
Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2006 07:19 am Post Subject: Australian Insurance Fraud
Hey !
This is Mark O'Reilly from Melbourne, Australia. Its been quite sometime, that I'd been following your website's forum, and to be precise, I truly liked the way you'd pick up issues analyzing the insurance scam scenario from distant corners o' the world. Guys, you can take my word for it, that the scenario is almost the same everywhere as it has been in the US for years.
Just to introduce you to the happenings over here.... as I cruised in through a newsletter today, my eyes got fixed at an article relating to insurance scams over here.
It depicted how people fake falls, torch cars and even businesses to inflate their claims up to billions o' dollars to be compensated by their insurers.
As a precaution against people who intentionally err and then sue, a supermarket owner has installed surveillance systems worth $35000 in two of his stores. He admits to have witnessed sudden spills and falls, eggs being dropped, sliding on fragile items, soap tricks and even on lettuce leaves on certain occasions.
The journal also revealed , that the top frauds involve Motor vehicles, Worker's compensation, household insurance, commercial insurance, Compulsory third party insurance and Travel insurance.
I have also perceived an Australian website publicizing professional crooks for doing such jobs. According to some of the Insurance Service giants, it has been estimated that about $70 from every insurance premium compensates scams. Hence, it would be a great idea to share views across the globe and consequently resulting in a new era.
I'd be signing off for now...but never mind...I'll be back sooner than you expect !
Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2006 10:01 am Post Subject: Welcome
Hi Mark ... You are most welcome !
It is really nice to hear from you...a real worthy story to discuss with.
keep on posting such stories and get us updated regularly.
Steven. :D
Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2006 08:50 am Post Subject: An astonishing piece for You All !
Whats up ! This is Mark signing back and guessing you all were doing fairly well .
Just wanted to draw your attention towards something astonishing. Its an interesting piece from Raymond Terrace in Australia-
Harry Bentley Gordon, 56, a former Sydney based businessman got arrested at Sydney international airport last week, after spending 5 years in New Zealand. Gordon has owned up faking his own death with the intension of cheating his insurer worth AU$3.5 million in a drunken boating mishap 5 years ago. He has admitted of conspiring with his first wife and daughter to acquire money in a scam, leading to a police investigation. A forged Australian passport and some forged travel documents were revealed by him.
After being thoroughly interrogated for 5 years by his insurance company, his first wife Sheila Gordon had finally revealed Gordon's plans earlier this year. Gordon had remarried during his 5 years' stay in New Zealand, but did not achieve a single buck out of his insurance company back in Australia. The police were reluctant to disclose any details whatsoever, but the Sunday Star Times newspaper quotes Gordon's new wife to be still in love with him.
British-born Aucklander Kristine Newsome, a 57-year-old social worker and Gordon's wife in New Zealand seemed apprehensive about disclosing facts about his double life, as quoted by the newspaper.
Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2006 05:39 am Post Subject: Plane crash Fraud
Thanks a lot for keeping us updated, Mark.
Here is a unique one from New Zealand. This will perhaps cross all the heights.
Howard Lawrence Jamison, 46, has disclosed facts in connection to his Cessna aircraft crash in 2004 and owned up his guilt in being part of an insurance scam. He has owned up his fault to have been rightly charged with 3 document frauds, as his Cessna aircraft plane that was earlier proclaimed as destroyed, got recovered from inside a shipping container in Ashburton.
Jamison was known to have survived a crash in 2004, when according to his earlier claim, he had to abandon his aircraft carrier due to some technical snag. He backed up his plan very well, claiming a flight operational failure that saw him through a landing failure.
Jamison had earlier described his way back using his aircraft wreckage as a surfboard to get ashore. Arguably he had traversed 500 m and pounced upon a motorist inviting a treatment at Ashburton Hospital following some minor injuries. For all these months he pretended to have tried to gather the wreckage in bits and pieces, but failed on each occasion.
Sarah :D
Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2008 11:16 pm Post Subject:
Insurance fraud is an aweful big risk for someone to take. If caught your chances of getting insured in the future is at risk.. I can see how insurance costs can get out of control and raise peoples insurance. I just don't think any of it is worht the risk and really is dishonest. I see enough in my area and would imagine insurance rates are higher here due to the claims.
Add your comment