People who scam auto insurance providers end up boosting the cost of premiums, in the end, says a report on the subject released Thursday.
According to a report created by Aviva Canada, consumers are shelling out an additional $2 billion a year in costs thanks to those who commit auto insurance fraud.
The report, entitled Crash, Cash and Backlash: Aviva Fraud Report 2017, stated honest drivers are paying higher premiums based on a small minority of people who are ripping off the system.
Aviva Canada – via Pollara Strategic Insights – interviewed more than 1,500 Canadians in October for the report.
Of those interviewed, 81% felt their insurance premiums increased due to factors such as fraudulent vehicle repairs, vehicle theft or personal injury claims.
“The biggest fraud is from personal injury claims,” said Gord Rasbach, a former Toronto Police detective who is leading Aviva’s anti-fraud efforts. “A big chunk (of fraud) comes from that.”
The report also suggests 67% of those interviewed believe fighting fraud would lower insurance premiums.
Rasbach recently spoke to Postmedia about the report and its findings.
Two billion dollars is an awfully high amount of costs. Does the additional cost motorists have to shell out for insurance premiums shock you in terms of the number of people committing fraud?
No, I don’t think it (the figures) shocks me. The report shows $2 billion. I actually think the $2 billion is conservative. For most people, (insurance is) 5% of their disposable income. People will pay more when insurance is abused. It’s nothing new … it’s been going on for a long, long time.
Will the price of insurance go up to the point where it’s no longer affordable?
We don’t want it to go up and that’s the reason for the call to action. You need to do things now rather than bear the cost on honest people. Regulators don’t want an insurance company to do something about fraud. That’s astounding. It’s up to each insurance company to do what they wish. Some are very active while others don’t do a damn thing.
You want to fight fraud, but how hard would it be to get people and agencies on board for this call to action?
I admit that it will be hard. The best way to (get people on board) is when enough people get tired of paying for this. Especially when it’s the majority paying for a few. Then it will reach a breaking point and they’ll have had enough.