21 Apr Insurance fraud hurts everyone​

The South African Insurance Association estimates that almost one third of local insurance claims are fraudulent in some way, which is in line with international trends. In general, there are two different types of insurance fraudster: those who take out policies with the upfront intention of stealing and those with existing policies who either claim for items that were stolen or damaged when they weren’t or who over-inflate values in their claims when something is legitimately stolen or damaged. But it’s simply not worth it. Many fraudulent claims result in legal action against the claimant, who can be prosecuted even after a claim has been paid. In addition, it is a common misconception that insurance fraud is an industry issue, but ultimately everyone suffers as the cost of providing insurance inevitably increases.