SGI has released their top five insurance fraud cases from 2022, highlighting the efforts of the Crown corporation’s Special Investigation Unit. This unit looks into various cases, and last year helped save $5.8 million dollars from the SGI coffers after busting hundreds of fraudulent claims.  

In their top five, SGI highlighted cases that ranged from odd to straight-up brazen.  

In one instance, a man reported his vehicle as missing and claimed it had been parked out front of his house with a spare key inside. Police found the vehicle an hour after it was reported missing on the front lawn of someone’s property a short walk from the claimant’s house. Police said the vehicle had struck a tree and parked vehicle.  

A theft and collision claim was filed with SGI, while another claim was filed for the property damage.  

Security footage obtained by the SIU showed the vehicle going at a high rate of speed, then colliding with a vehicle and then the tree. Someone matching the description of the claimant was then seen walking away from the scene, locking the vehicle. He would confess to having caused the collision after driving when he should not have been.  

In another incident found someone had rolled back the odometer of their vehicle after it had been through a dip with standing water, in an effort to increase the value of the vehicle. The claim was withdrawn when the SIU brought up their findings with the claimant.  

The third story related by SGI came about after a claimant told SGI he and his girlfriend were driving through foggy conditions, missed a turnoff, and hit an abandoned vehicle. They then went to a nearby house for help, and didn’t call the police, and told the residents of the home they went to that they didn’t want the police to know about the collision. 

The police were called nonetheless, and they visited the scene of the collision where they were said to have found drug paraphernalia. As well, there was no evidence of fog, no nearby turnoff that could have been missed, and the vehicle was travelling at double the reported speed at the time of the collision. There were also reports the pair were intoxicated.  

The claim was denied for misrepresentation. 

In another claim rejected after investigation, a woman claimed she had hit a deer and left the vehicle on the side of the road. When she returned it had been completely burned.  

However, a witness said they saw two people remove belongings from the vehicle before it went up in flames. The vehicle was not registered at the time of the collision, and the registration was purchased an hour after the collision happened.  

The final case that was rejected after an investigation by the SIU was a woman who filed a claim stating she had fallen asleep behind the wheel and collided with a parked vehicle.  

The SIU discovered that the woman was in financial trouble, and was even talking to a bailiff about the repossession of her SUV. The investigation revealed that the vehicle was idle for five seconds before the crash, and this was followed up by the gas pedal being slammed down. The investigation determined the claimant had caused the collision intentionally to avoid having the vehicle repossessed.  

SGI reminds those who file insurance claims to always be honest about the incident.