March is Fraud Prevention Month: Join the Fight Against Fraudsters
March is Fraud Prevention Month in Canada. Like many other organizations across the country, we at HUB Insurance Hunter wanted to spread the work about fraud and talk about what we can do to help prevent it.
Insurance Fraud Keeps Insurance Rates High
Even though a rate decrease for auto insurance has been announced, Ontario drivers are still paying more for insurance than they should be. Why? One of the leading factors to higher car insurance rates is insurance fraud. When someone commits insurance fraud, it impacts all drivers.
According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada,
“At least 15% of what you pay for insurance ends up covering fraudulent insurance claims. Each year, this type of crime costs Canadians more than $1 billion.”
What you can do: Recognize it. Report it. Stop it.
As an everyday citizen, you are not a helpless victim. There are a number of things that you can do to help prevent fraud and these steps are part of insurance fraud awareness campaign that is led by the Competition Bureau, Fraud Prevention Forum, and Government of Canada:
- Recognize it: Insurance fraud is a serious issue and you never know when you could become a victim. To prevent this, it is important that you educate yourself and others about the types of fraud and stay up to date with the news about potential fraud scams. When you recognize fraud you reduce the chance of it happening.
- Report it: If you suspect fraud, the only way to stop it in its tracks is to report it. Contact the police immediately if you suspect fraud.
- Stop it: Collectively we can stop fraud. Through education, awareness, and action we can all help to prevent fraud from occurring.
Fraud is nothing to mess around with. It is a serious issue and it could cost you. What do you do to ensure you are not a victim of fraud? What advice can you offer to Canadians about protecting them from fraud and insurance scams?