Canadians blame insurance fraud for high auto premiums: Aviva Report

Eighty-one percent of Canadians believe that increases in auto insurance premiums are tied to insurance fraud, according to a new report from Aviva Canada.

“Honest consumers are paying out of pocket an estimated $2 billion a year in added costs for criminal frauds being perpetrated on the auto insurance system,” Greg Somerville, president and CEO of Aviva Canada, said in a statement. “It’s time to fight back. This report shows that Canadians agree with us.”

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Crash, Cash and Backlash: Aviva Fraud Report 2017 indicates that Canadians are concerned that fraudulent vehicle repairs, vehicle theft and personal injury claims are driving up premiums.

The report found that 67% of Canadians believe that cracking down on fraud will result in lower premiums, and 77% support government and law enforcement allocating more resources to policing and prosecuting insurance fraud. Fifty percent of Canadians believe there are too many ads for personal injury lawyers, and 60% said personal injury lawyers are needed in “a small number of cases.”

The report is based on a survey conducted by Pollara Strategic Insights that polled 1,502 Canadians from all 10 provinces last month. It is considered accurate within plus or minus 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

This story was originally published by Canadian Insurance Top Broker.