Insurance fraud: the possible consequences

Consequence 2: Cancellation of the cover

If insurance fraud is confirmed, the insurer cannot accept the claim submitted. It is therefore possible that a whole claim is rejected, even if only a small part has been committed fraudulently. Imagine the following situation: there is a burglary at your home and you declare a television and jewellery as stolen items. When submitting a claim, you decide to add a mobile phone as a stolen item, even though it has not been stolen. That's easy money, right? Unfortunately, if the insurer catches you, you run the risk of the claim being declared invalid. So there you are with a lot of costs...

Consequence 3: A spot in the insurer's fraud register

The insurer will put your name in the register if your insurance has been terminated due to fraudulent practices. This is not a so-called ''black list'', but it is noted in this register why insurances have been stopped and when. The purpose of this is to protect the insurance company from fraudulent customers. The registrations within the insurance company are not visible to others.

Result 4: A registration with the CIS Foundation

A note behind your name internal to the insurance company is not visible to other insurance companies. A registration with Stichting CIS is! CIS is short for Central Information System. This foundation stores data about insurances that are of importance to insurers in their database. Insurance fraud is one example of this, but defaulters are also listed here, as are disqualifications from driving and information about people with a criminal record. This is done to make risks transparent for insurers. These data can be retrieved by insurers from the national database. In this way, fraud is prevented as much as possible.

If you get a CIS registration, it is difficult to join a new insurance company. The chance of a refusal of an insurance application increases greatly if you are registered for fraud. In that case there is only one insurance company left with which you can affiliate: de Vereende. This is a specialised insurance company that deals with insurance in special situations.

Consequence 5: Reporting of fraud to the CBV

Insurance fraud can also be detrimental to your career (opportunities). A report to the Centre for Combating Insurance Fraud (CBV) is detrimental to a good first impression when applying for a job in the insurance sector/financial institution. The CBV is a unit within the Dutch Association of Insurers. This department helps insurers to combat fraud and other forms of insurance scams. When you apply for a job, a company can see the information of the CBV and get information about possible fraud cases that have been committed in the past.

Consequence 6: Monetary penalty, costs of investigation and increase of insurance premium

Fraud is unacceptable and has financial consequences. Since the year 2016, a fine of €532 is imposed on fraudsters. This measure was drawn up by SODA. Important here is that the insurer must be able to prove the fraud. This often requires an investigation. The costs of such an investigation can be substantial, especially if an expert opinion is required. If it turns out that fraud has been committed, the costs will be recovered from the person who committed the fraud.

On top of that, the new insurance will cost more. With a scam note it is only possible to take out insurance with De Vereende. For this you pay an extra premium for your insurance and you are obliged to pay three months in advance, because you are seen as a riskier policyholder. Finally, there is a deposit on top of this. This can be used to settle unpaid premiums, should you be late in paying.

Consequence 7: Reporting to the police station

After all, the insurer can take the step of reporting fraud to the police. This rarely happens in practice, but in the case of a high amount or organised crime, many insurers take this step.