As the winter snow begins to fall and the festive season approaches, Équité Association and Allstate Insurance Company of Canada have partnered through their 'Put the Freeze on Fraud' campaign to raise awareness about concerning insurance fraud trends. Équité’s 2025 First Half Auto Theft Trend Report points to criminals turning to various forms of insurance crime such as re-VINs, staged collisions, falsified documentation, and auto theft. Fraud always has a victim, and by joining together, Équité and Allstate are helping to educate about insurance crime to keep Canadians safe and secure this holiday season.

The Calculated Scheme: Premeditated Fraud

Premeditated insurance fraud is meticulously planned in advance. It almost always involves sophisticated, interconnected, organized crime networks who collaborate solely to systematically defraud the insurance industry.

This type of organized crime can often involve professionals who have a duty of integrity, such as owners of healthcare clinics, registered healthcare professionals, or even lawyers. Their involvement can tragically result in vulnerable victims not receiving the healthcare services they need.

In Équité’s experience, some members of these networks possess deep, insider knowledge of the insurance industry and hold positions of power or access, like a tow truck driver who arrives first at a collision scene or a registered healthcare practitioner. These organized crime rings frequently prey upon individuals at their most vulnerable, often immediately following a vehicle collision, and conspire to bill insurers for services and products that were never delivered.

For example, in a premeditated fraud, a healthcare clinic owner might work with a tow truck company to funnel accident victims to their facility. The clinic then generates falsified medical records, exaggerating the individual's injuries and claim costly assessments, which in turn delays necessary and timely access to genuine treatment.

When healthcare providers falsify records to perpetrate a fraudulent claim, the ripple effect directly harms the injured innocent victim. Policy limits meant to fund recovery can be quickly exhausted by overbilling, leaving the victim without the full financial benefit required for their rehabilitation. Moreover, these fabricated or exaggerated records become a permanent part of the victim’s medical history. This can negatively impact the victim years later when applying for crucial coverage, such as life insurance. The undisclosed (and unknown) falsified medical history could potentially lead to a policy refusal, significantly higher premiums, or even a claims denial.

It’s important to be aware that insurance crime always has a victim. It has real physical, emotional and financial consequences.

On behalf of Canadian property and casualty insurers, Équité combats insurance crime on behalf of its members by deploying advanced analytics, intelligence best practices, and coordinated investigations. Allstate Insurance Company of Canada is a leading home and auto insurer focused on providing its customers prevention and protection products and services for every stage of life.

Allstate Insurance Company of Canada has partnered with Équité Association, the national authority on insurance crime and fraud prevention, to raise awareness and help Canadians avoid becoming victims. Click here to read Allstate’s Good Hands blog about What to do when caught in a car insurance scam.

Follow this campaign and future awareness articles on LinkedIn through @Équité Association and @Allstate Canada. To report information about insurance crime by phone (available 24/7), please call 1-877-422-TIPS (English) or 1-866-422-4331 (service en français).

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