It’s something most people hope to never use, but occasionally, you are in need of insurance. For some, however, it is a chance to tell a tall tale in hopes of claiming insurance in Saskatchewan.
SGI has officially released its list of the top five fraud cases of 2022.
In 2022, SGI’s special investigation unit said it busted hundreds of fraudulent claims, resulting in $5.8 million in savings.
Here’s a look at some of the top questionable claims in 2022.
Heist Hoax
A customer, who SGI refers to as “Cole,” reported his vehicle missing and claimed the vehicle had been parked in front of his house with a spare key locked inside.
One hour after Cole reported the vehicle missing, police found it a short walk from his house, on the front lawn of someone else’s property. It had collided with a nearby parked vehicle and a tree.
Cole, as well as the owner of the parked car, filed claims for damages.
SGI said investigators found security footage of Cole’s “stolen” vehicle speeding, losing control and hitting the car and then the tree. Then a person who looked like Cole got out of the vehicle, locked it with a fob and walked away.
Cole was on the hook for $50,000 in vehicle and property damage.
Rollback rip-off
SGI said a woman submitted a claim saying she drove her truck through some standing water, which caused the engine to quit.
SIU found the vehicle’s odometer had been rolled back by 150,000 kilometres to increase the truck’s value.
It was then that the woman withdrew her claim of $7,000.
Foggy details
SGI said a man claimed he was driving in foggy conditions early one morning when he missed a turnoff and hit an abandoned vehicle.
He and his girlfriend walked to a nearby farm for help, and told the residents they didn’t want the accident reported to police.
When police arrived at the scene, they found a few problems with the story.
There was no turnoff anywhere near the scene, and no evidence of fog at the time of the collision. The vehicle was also found to have been travelling at double the speed reported in the initial claim.
Witnesses claimed the couple were intoxicated at the time of the crash, and police found “concerning items” in their vehicle, including drug paraphernalia. The $40,000 claim was denied for misrepresentation.
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Oh Deer
SGI said one woman claimed to have hit a deer before leaving her vehicle at the roadside. She said when she came back to the vehicle, it had been completely burned.
SIU met a witness who saw two people remove belongings from the vehicle before the vehicle went up in flames a short time later.
SIU discovered the vehicle was not registered at the time of the collision, and registration had been purchased less than an hour after the crash. SIU believes the women returned to set the vehicle on fire in order to receive a payout.
The $5,000 claim was denied.
Time for a nap
One woman filed a claim stating she fell asleep while driving and collided with a parked vehicle.
SGI discovered before the incident, the woman had recently spoken with a bailiff about the repossession of her high-valued SUV the day before the collision as she was having financial troubles.
Data retrieved after the crash showed the SUV went from a dead stop five seconds before the crash to 31 km/h at impact. The $63,000 claim was denied on the grounds it was made to avoid having the vehicle repossessed.
Those facts led investigators to determine the woman caused the accident on purpose to avoid having her vehicle repossessed, SGI says.
As a result, SGI saved $63,000.
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