Watch out for those wild signposts!

As economic times get tough, and people look for ways to avoid paying money, many insurers are on the lookout for fraudulent claims.
The latest example in B.C. was based on the fact that insurance premiums are not affected in comprehensive claims related to crashes involving wildlife.
But a Bella Coola, B.C. woman found out the hard way that the imprint a signpost leaves on a car’s front end is vastly different from the imprint associated with a collision with a deer, the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) notes in a press release.
In September 2007, Lorna Vogelaar told ICBC that she was driving along a remote stretch of Highway 20 outside Hagensborg, in the area of Tippy’s Corner, when a deer loomed ahead,” ICBC reported. “Unable to avoid it, she says she struck the animal, resulting in substantial damage to her 2003 Kia.”
A skeptical ICBC estimator examined the vehicle and thought there was no way a deer could inflict such damage. The estimator thought it was much more likely the Kia hit a signpost instead.
Vogelaar eventually confessed to hitting the signpost and recently pleaded guilty to one count of reporting a false claim, an offence under Section 42.1 of under the Insurance (Motor Vehicle) Act.
She was fined Cdn$1,000 and will also have to pay a Cdn$150 victim surcharge.
ICBC says it has invested approximately Cdn$8 million in fraud prevention in 2007, “more than most property and casualty insurance companies in Canada.”