Insurance Crime
Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) has an 80-year history of providing
investigative services to Canada’s home, car and business insurers.
In recent years, IBC has shifted the focus of its investigative efforts
from individual suspicious claims to organized insurance crime rings –
specifically, rings involved in auto theft and/or filing fraudulent injury
claims. Organized insurance crime is on the rise in Canada and represents
a significant cost to insurers and policyholders; the annual cost of auto
theft, alone, is $600 million.
IBC’s primary goal in providing investigative services is to protect
the premiums of honest policyholders by ensuring that insurance companies
pay only legitimate and honest claims.
And IBC is uniquely positioned to combat insurance crime:
- Effective
lobbyist. As the voice of Canada’s home, car and business
insurers, IBC can lobby governments for legislative changes that would
deter insurance criminals. For example, IBC has requested that auto
theft be recognized as a serious, violent crime (rather than a mere
property crime) in both the Criminal Code of Canada and the Youth Criminal
Justice Act.
- Cross-country data. As a national
association, IBC has access to insurance crime data from across the
country, which it uses to detect trends within and across regions.
- Investigative body. IBC is designated
as an investigative body under federal privacy legislation – the
Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)
– meaning it is able to exchange information with insurers for
the purposes of preventing and detecting insurance crime.
- Experienced investigators. IBC’s
investigators have extensive insurance and policing experience. They
have the unique knowledge and technological tools required for investigating
organized criminal activity related to insurance.
- Crime-fighting
partners. IBC is a trusted partner with other insurance-crime-fighting
agencies nationally and internationally. These partnerships mean that
important information gets shared between IBC and, for example, police
forces, making for effective investigations and increasing the likelihood
of charges being laid.
IBC has a great track record as an investigative force. Every year, IBC’s
investigative services result in millions of dollars in savings for insurance
companies and their policyholders.
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