Insurance industry fights claim fraud

Press, 24 March 1988, Page 5

Insurance industry fights claim fraud

PA M : ’! Wellington : : i ••• • i ' 'U 1 • ;i : | ■ •' ■ ; ij The insurance industry says 70 per cent to 80 per cent of all insurance claims contain some fraudulent element,! and it is fighting back by educating staff on how to beat the cheats. ' ; -i k,!.! '■ (’’’ J !’| [ ■ fl ■I 1 ■fl '

Arson alone cost the (industry $3O million in ! 1985, the insurance ser'j! vibes manager for A,A. I Mutual Insurance; ■ [Mr ’’ Ross Collett, said. He said I it might'now be up around $5O million I and other ’ forms of fraud ' could ( double that figure. ; Mr' Collett was the ■ moderator, at a Wellington (( seminar on fraud held, by! the( district’s Insurance !In-( 5 stitute.. The . seminar covered many types of ; fraud — ( from claiming i for | non-existent television ([ sets to arson., ( The speakers were Mr i John West, a former! chief I forensic . document ex-’ I aminer and [ handwriting Lexp|ert, with I the (police who has worked with the F.B'l. the C.I.A. and Scot- < land Yard, and is still an. ! adViser to the police; Mr ' Trevor Morley, a- police-’ [ man for 16 years and; ' private investigator for 10

who 1 is director of Morley Security Group and is brodght in by insurance ■Companies !to[ investigate claims; and’ Detective Senior-Sergeant i Harry Quinn, head of Wellington C.1.8.j fraud squad. J Tlie insurance staff at the iseminar>(were given advibe that ranged from watering the I “body language!" of the person at the counter,’ to keeping in good (condition any, documents that ■ might be .needed for forensic bxamination. (’ [ Mr! Collett (said insurers needed protection from policy holders, “who see us a,s a sort of bank.” He said! [many of them expected to pay their premiums’ ’and get them back with 1 interest! - Though few of the injured would!rob a bank’ they '. thought! nothing of defrauding their insurer by ’raising I the amount

claimed for, claiming for things that do nbt exist or even arranging! for theft I or I arson Mr Collett said. | [I [ I Mr Morley said that, in his (experience 75 to ’BO per [ cent “are fraudulent in one way or another,[ and’lyithink I’m being conservative.” Mr Morley described a case that became known I as “the [case;of the phantom’ foijklifts,” where a businessman!! wno comitted suicide had 13 forklift trucks! but on paper he had 431 which he had received finance for. | Some things'claimed forj were “truly pha|ntom,”,he said. ’,[ (( ’ Sometimes;; th,e industry won because’ of a partial dishonesty, ( because in such cases ii the whole claim 11 was I considered “tainted” and I ineligible for payment] Mr Morley said. •( -|! I i |