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Insurers Launch Toll-Free National Insurance Crime TIPS Line (1-877-IBC-TIPS) - Consumer tips proven to make a difference.
TORONTO, Oct. 6, 2005 - Canada's home, car and business insurers announced today the launch of a national insurance crime TIPS line to make it easier for Canadians to report auto theft, insurance fraud, staged auto collisions and other crimes related to insurance. These are extremely costly crimes that are committed every day - both by organized theft or fraud rings and by ordinary policyholders exaggerating a claim. Either way, these crimes drive up the cost of insurance for everyone.
There is an abundance of proof that tips from the public can make a difference. In fact, one such tip led to the arrest of several members of a car theft ring that was stealing the same cars over and over again.
The tip came in to Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), which will administer the new TIPS line, from a young school teacher in Montreal. A few years prior, she had been in the market for a car. After answering a classified ad, she wound up with just the car she was looking for, for about $3,000 less than the lowest price she had seen elsewhere. She thought she had gotten the deal of the century. Two weeks later, the car was gone, stolen from her driveway during the night.
"This individual was the victim of a common auto theft scheme," says Andre Beauchamp, Director, Auto Theft, IBC, "whereby stolen cars are sold to unsuspecting consumers who answer a classified ad directing them to a cell number. The deal is arranged, the seller insists on cash and when the sale is complete, he keeps a spare set of keys. A few days pass, and when the time is right, the car is stolen once again, to be sold to the next unsuspecting buyer."
In this instance, the tip came in several years later. "The victim was again shopping for a car," says Beauchamp, "and while answering another newspaper ad, she immediately recognized the voice on the other end of the phone. She had learned her lesson, and she wanted to make sure this guy learned his. She called IBC, and they made sure that the police were there to greet the man with the familiar voice when he showed up to try and sell her yet another stolen car."
Insurance crime costs insurance companies and policyholders approximately $3 billion a year. This is a conservative estimate. Furthermore, far from being victimless, insurance crimes like auto theft cost lives. Every year in Canada, 20-30 people lose their lives as the result of car thieves trying to evade the authorities; often driving too fast, while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and showing no regard for the safety of others.
"If you are offered a deal that seems too good to be true on a car, it may seem harmless enough," says Beauchamp, "but what you see from this scam is that if a criminal is willing to steal from someone else, they are probably willing to steal from you, too. Whenever someone is getting something for nothing, somebody is paying for it."
Canada's home, car and business insurers want Canadians to take the time to report insurance crime. Anyone with information about a possible insurance crime can call the toll-free TIPS line at 1-877-IBC-TIPS (422-8477) or submit a tip on-line at www.ibc.ca. All tips are kept confidential.
"We're asking for people to use their judgement. If you're offered a deal on a car that sounds too good to be true, report it. If you overhear someone talking about stealing a car, report it. When you submit a tip, IBC will work with its member companies and the authorities to make sure the wrongdoers are brought to justice," adds Beauchamp. "If you are sick of standing by and watching other people cheat while you pay for it, now you have a way to fight back."
Insurance Bureau of Canada is the national trade association of the private property and casualty insurance industry. It represents more than 90% of the non-government home, car and business insurance in Canada. To view news releases and information, visit the media section of IBC's website at www.ibc.ca.
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