NCJ Number
169672
Date Published
1997
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This is an overview of insurance fraud in Australia, and the steps being taken by the insurance industry and by Australian police services to combat it.
Abstract
Approximately 80-85 percent of the insurance premiums paid in Australia each year are returned in claims paid to policyholders, some $14 billion dollars annually. Of this total, approximately 10 percent is received by policyholders who, according to the Insurance Council of Australia, have fabricated or inflated a claim. The costs imposed by these frauds are borne by honest policyholders, who pay higher premiums. In addition, the burdens on law-abiding citizens and business people are an impediment to the nation's economic competitiveness. In 1991, the insurance industry established the Insurance Reference Service, a database to assist in preventing and controlling insurance fraud. The industry has also instituted a fraud reward scheme, to deter fraud, provide information in furtherance of investigation, and assist insurers in denying liability or in reducing payments in cases where fraud is involved. Figures, references