What is Insurance Fraud

The term insurance fraud covers a range of issues and can be deceiving to some people.  Fraud is simply another form of “Theft” which involves some type of trick or deception. 

Insurance Fraud can include the exaggeration of otherwise legitimate claims, intentional misrepresentation of the facts or complex organised manipulation of the claims process to gain a financial advantage where there been no actual loss.

The most common form of insurance fraud is the exaggeration of personal claims – this is referred to as Opportunistic Fraud

Premeditated or planned frauds are usually committed by the Professional Fraudster and often by Organised Criminal Gangs.

Regardless of whether the fraud is committed on a one-off basis (opportunity) or is a series of frauds committed by a professional criminal it is still considered at law to be a serious indictable offence where the penalties can be imprisonment for up to 10 years or a substantial fine or both.