With insurance fraud it concerns a Kavaliersdelikt! What do you pay your insurance premiums for? This thought was cherished in 2017(!) according to a survey conducted by Statist in cooperation with YouGov 15 percent of Germans. Of these, five percent said they had already defrauded the insurance company once, and ten percent had thought about defrauding it. Respondents felt that insurance fraud worked easiest with liability insurance, followed by household insurance. Among the insurance items where respondents were most likely to think fraud was justifiable were consumer and household electronics.
Business detectives get on the trail of fraudsters
If insured persons obtain certain benefits from an insurance company under false pretenses or manipulation, then this is insurance fraud. Interesting is the fact that this criminal act is a common phenomenon. In part, it even takes on such large proportions that people specialize in it and professionally commit insurance fraud in order to earn their living this way. They do so in such a clever way that it is difficult to prove that they committed the crime.
However, there are not only professional criminals, but sometimes also blameless average citizens get carried away with obtaining money from the insurance company under false pretenses. Whoever suspects that such fraudulent actions or even acts are being carried out in one's own environment, but does not know how to put a stop to them and prove them, has the possibility to turn to the private detective Vienna. Private investigators specialize in insurance fraud cases and know how to detect the trickery of fraudsters.
Insurance fraud: Anything but a trivial offense
Those familiar with the industry estimate that as many as one in 10. Damage is not quite "clean. The problem is that the majority of the population does not consider insurance fraud as a crime, but classifies it as a "trivial offense". This is how insurance companies explain the fact that insurance fraud has become a kind of "popular sport".
It quickly happens due to a little carelessness: The recently acquired new smartphone crashes to the ground and there are some scratches. Annoyed that these scratches are obvious, everyone knows that the insurance company is unlikely to cover the damage here. Some of those affected then decide to use a hammer in this case and ensure without further ado that the smartphone suffers a total loss. This is then reported full of hope to the insurance company. Or car owners who have been involved in a traffic accident through no fault of their own demand that the garage repair damage itself at the insurance company's expense that is not actually related to the accident.
Detect the insurance fraud
Even if the fraudulent actions to the detriment of the insurance companies are widespread on the one hand and on the other hand entail enormous financial damages for the companies, the measures taken by them are small in comparison to the damages suffered. This is especially the case in the area of prevention, because the prevention of insurance fraud is often neglected or neglected. not made sufficiently. Insurance companies use the following approaches against fraudsters:
- Independent loss assessors are appointed
- Automatic fraud detection software comes into play
- Insurance investigators come into play
Cooperation with competent business detectives represents an enormous advantage when it comes to fraud. The reason is that the professionals of the detective agency have intensively studied the tricks and procedures of the professional criminals. Thus, it is possible to develop ideal methods to uncover a case of fraud and collect valid evidence to ultimately convict the perpetrator. The central area of the detectives is to examine the case of damage exactly and to check possible inconsistencies. The goal of the investigators is to find out whether the damage was actually incurred as the suspect stated or whether a case of fraud has been committed. The professionals use the following methods:
- Research
- Observation
- Questioning of respondents who witnessed the damage
Many detectives also cooperate with lawyers and criminalists to successfully carry out the investigative work. This provides the client with several bundles of expertise. This approach enables detectives to uncover cases in the shortest possible time. If the insured can be proven to have committed fraud and is convicted by a final judgment, then there is a possibility that they will be sued for damages and they will have to pay the detective's costs as well.
The penalty for insurance fraud
Even if "insurance fraud" is not directly considered a criminal offense, the respective offenses related to it must be reported as such. Fraudulent acts in connection with insurance matters are considered both fraud and insurance abuse. The latter is especially true if the insured property was intentionally damaged or destroyed in order to obtain monetary benefits from the insurer.
Insureds who are guilty of such fraud must expect serious consequences: criminal as well as civil. If insurance fraud is proven, the policyholder will face the following actions:
- The insurance company refuses to pay.
- There is a cancellation of the insurance policy.
- Demanding the reimbursement of the expenses, in case of financial damage incurred.
- Filing of a criminal complaint: Increasingly, regardless of the extent of the fraud, this occurs.
If there is a final conviction, then a fine is usually imposed. But in some cases, the threat of imprisonment is as high as five to 10 years. Evidentiary material is beneficial so that the fraudster can be held accountable. The use of detectives is recommended to get this information.