Insurance Fraud

Are you applying for a new insurance policy? If so, the insurer will ask you a few questions before accepting your application. If you do not answer these questions honestly, it constitutes insurance fraud. For example:

• Has an insurance company ever rejected your application?
• Has your insurance ever been canceled?
• Do you have a criminal record?
• Has your driver's license ever been suspended?

It is also fraud to provide false information when reporting a claim. For example, if you list more items as stolen in a burglary than were actually taken. In that case, you are providing false information and exaggerating the loss so that the insurer will pay more. This is not allowed.

Another form of fraud is filing false claims. For example, if you claim your phone was stolen when you actually lost it yourself. Altering the facts so that the insurance company will pay for your loss is fraud.

It often happens that people deliberately cause an accident or drive into something in order to collect money. The insurer must then prove that this is fraud. To do so, the insurer calls in a specialist.

This person can immediately tell whether a break-in is real or not, and whether someone broke a window themselves. Sometimes, the window is broken from the inside rather than from the outside.

Insurers use advanced systems and specially trained fraud investigators to analyze suspicious claims. They look for unusual damage patterns and inconsistencies in statements, and sometimes use outside experts or databases such as Stichting CIS to detect fraud.

Anyone caught committing insurance fraud will not receive compensation and may be fined at least €532. In addition, insurers may file a report with the police, terminate the insurance policy, and recover the costs of the investigation. This usually results in an entry in the CIS registry as well.

In most cases, a record of insurance fraud in the CIS Foundation’s database remains visible for eight years. During this period, other insurers can view the report, which may affect a person’s ability to obtain new insurance policies.

A CIS record as a fraudster makes it difficult to obtain insurance from mainstream providers. In addition, you’ll often have to pay a higher premium, and your application may be denied. Coverage for existing insurance policies may also be adjusted or terminated.

Examples include: reporting additional items after a burglary, re-filing a claim for old damage, filing a false report of theft, or intentionally causing damage. Concealing a criminal history when applying for insurance also constitutes fraud.

Yes, but not with regular insurers. De Vereende is one of the few insurers that will likely accept you. You will, however, have to pay a high premium.