Insurance fraud grew 15% during the pandemic and already moves about $ 55,000 million per year

The devastating effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy were revealed in the last year and a half, but little has been realized about the rise in criminal behaviors that grew in the heat of the crisis and before the difficulty to control these behaviors. In that framework, the company Libra Seguros revealed that In Argentina, fraud cases increased 15% since the arrival of Covid-19, while highlighting that almost half of claims of claims in Argentina are false or exaggerated. It is a criminal modality that moves about 55,000 million pesos per year, according to sources in the sector.

In that sense, the insurer that presides Gabriel Bussola, and that has as legal advisor Mariano Cúneo Libarona, I affirm that will be the first to criminally denounce its perpetrators.

“Today we have a case with an oral hearing and four more in a firm complaint. This is important because in times of crisis these crimes increase worldwide “said Bussola to Infobae.

In this context, he added that within the structure of what the rate is, the user is paying on a technical structure of the insurance fee that includes the burden of fraud.

“We are in defense of the act of good faith of the insurance market. This is not to say that Libra does not want to pay or slow payments. We defend the actor in good faith. Because here we are harmed by the majority and a few benefit ”, he stressed.

Likewise, it indicated that the entire structure of rates and payment of claims ends up being paid by the actor in good faith with the increase in policies. “We plan to pay claims faster but for that we need to reduce fraud,” he said.

Although it is a global problem, in Argentina, approximately 45% of claims are false or exaggerated, a figure that in other countries ranges between 38 and 40 percent.

“Fraud, in every sense and in any industry, is clearly a crime and is thus typified in the Penal Code. And in the insurance industry it has an impact of magnitude because it represents a high percentage of claims payments, which affects the solvency of the system ”, highlighted Bussola.

Depending on the insurance firm, fraud against the insurer can take different forms. Some of them are the following:

–Submit false or incomplete information about the goods to be insured and their characteristics, in order to facilitate their insurability and / or obtain better contracting conditions.

–The variation, simulation or misrepresentation of personal, temporal, objective circumstances, of causality, of place, and the deliberate provocation or total or partial simulation of the occurrence of the loss.

–Modify the state of things damaged by the accident —With the exception of the obligation to rescue in order that, to the extent of its possibilities, it must avoid or reduce the aggravation of the damage — or exaggerate the damage.

–Using false tests and / or providing additional information, for the purposes of processing a claim.

“Libra has made a political decision not to endorse any such conduct. We are going to detect, combat and bring fraud cases to justice ”, the Libra headline explained.

The company said it detects between 20 and 30 cases of fraud per month. And he added that this work allows him to allocate about $ 80 million a year for claims and lawsuits that must be paid in full.

Fraud, in every sense and in any industry, is clearly a crime and is thus typified in the Penal Code. And in the insurance industry it has an impact of magnitude because it represents a high percentage of claims payments, which affects the solvency of the system (Bussola)

While, Surveys of the sector detail that of every 100 fraud attempts in vehicles, about 80 correspond to alleged thefts of the car or motorcycle, 15 to covers and the remaining five to overestimation in the value of the claim.

According to Libra, fraud also appears, although to a lesser extent, in other types of insurance. Damages to electrical appliances and causes of death other than those covered in the coverage of people are usually invented.

“There are the given conditions, in terms of insurance law and criminal law, to be able to reject fraudulent claims within the deadlines established by the Insurance Law, and use those grounds when criminally denouncing whoever tried to collect a claim that it did not correspond, ”explained Cúneo Libarona, an expert in Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure.

The company said it detects between 20 and 30 cases of fraud per month. And he added that this work allows him to allocate about $ 80 million a year for claims and lawsuits that must be paid in full.

Bussola expressed himself along the same lines: “If the one who attempts or carries out fraud has no legal consequence, we are promoting a path of illicit enrichment. It is necessary to break with the apathy or lightness with which the subject of fraud in the insurance industry is taken. It is not enough with the detection or with achieving the withdrawal, it is necessary to become aware of the economic impact that it causes and the effect on social conscience that implies looking the other way in the face of a crime. Society requires strong signals in terms of compliance with the laws ”.

Libra Seguros has been operating in Argentina since 2011. It is a comprehensive company that operates all market risks, with a turnover of $ 2,000 million per year.

In 2019 it added car insurance, with the novelty of incorporating the modality Orange Time. It is an insurance that measures the time of use of the car with the logic that “the less you use the car, the less you pay for your insurance.”

Through a geolocation and vehicle ignition system, the company can detect the time of use and thus optimize the cost of the policy, with significant savings on the monthly subscription.

This disruptive model consolidated Libra Seguros among the companies with the highest growth in the sector in the last three semesters. The firm also offers personal accident insurance, life insurance and funeral insurance.

KEEP READING: