ICBC’s Top Five Frauds of 2008

The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia’s (ICBC) Special Investigations Unit investigated 2,800 cases of fraud and obtained 54 convictions in 2008.
“We estimate fraud and exaggeration costs each of our 3.1 million customers in the range of $100 to $150 per year,” said Steven Tripp, manager of ICBC’s special investigations unit. “That amounts to theft from our customers. We’re committed to protecting them and to keeping rates low and stable.”
A group of 22 family and friends staged 12 intentional crashes dating back to 1995. This staged accident ring earned top spot in a list of ICBC’s Top Five frauds of 2008. For this ring, the court awarded the ICBC more than Cdn$369,000, in addition to Cdn$226,000 in settlements from various defendants.
Second on the list was a fraud involving a Vancouver woman who, after failing both the knowledge test and the driving test three times, placed two Cdn$100 bills on the examiner’s seat before he got in the car. For this ‘tip,’ she was sentenced to nine months conditional house arrest after pleading guilty to trying to bribe the driver examiner.
Third place went to an Abbotsford man who reported his motorcycle stolen. After paying out the claim, it was discovered the bike had been abandoned in a provincial park weeks earlier.
When interviewed, the man claimed he lent the bike to a friend; he then grabbed the SIU’s recording device and ran from officers. He tried unsuccessfully to destroy the evidence by smashing the recorder on the ground.
Fourth place went to a driver who claimed he was too injured to return to work or drive following an accident. Surveillance video showed him working and lifting heavy boxes and equipment as he moved his business to another location. He pled guilty to making a false statement and was fined Cdn$2,000, in addition to repaying the ICBC Cdn$4,400 for lost wages he had been paid.
Rounding out the top five is a Kelowna man who claimed he was the victim of a hit and run. He later admitted that he had in fact totalled his grandmother’s car.