Executive Corner

2024 was a momentous year, and on behalf of our members, we played a pivotal role in advocating for innovative solutions in the fight against auto theft. We doubled the members on ÉQ Insights while also growing the platform’s analytical capabilities; we delivered over $153 million in direct member value; and provided expert data, testimony and recommendations to support the commitment of over $200 million in federal funding to combat auto theft. 2024’s successes underscore the effectiveness of our initial three-year strategy and highlights the importance of industry collaboration, led by Équité, to reduce and prevent insurance crime in Canada.

Trend forecasting in this current climate is challenging due to global and national trade policy shifts that are occurring almost daily. However, there are a number of indicators that Équité Association is watching closely, including economic decline due to increased unemployment and cost of living, international implications of tariffs and trade policies, as well as catastrophic climate events. During periods of recession, we see key indicators that are associated with increasing crime, including insurance crime. From a property and casualty (P&C) insurance lens, Équité is keeping an eye on emerging trends, particularity in both auto and property crimes. As the cost of living and unemployment rise, we can expect to see more insurance crime.

This Fraud Prevention Month (FPM), Équité Association collaborated with our members, as well as industry stakeholders, to use our unified voice to raise awareness about insurance crime and fraud prevention. Our largest fraud awareness campaign to date, this year’s FPM saw our continued growth in industry leadership and collaboration.

Équité Association’s Danielle Wilkinson, VP, General Counsel, Chief Privacy Officer, and Corporate Secretary, has been recognized in ‘Insurance Business Canada’s Elite Women 2025’. Announced ahead of International Women’s Day, this award is given to women in insurance leadership who have made a meaningful contribution to insurance in the past year.

With the increased commitment of partnership and collaboration across all levels of government and industry organizations, Équité is actively participating in committees, joint intelligence groups, roundtables, and working groups and representing the industry as subject matter experts.

On November 19, we announced the Top 10 Most Stolen Vehicles in Canada of 2023, which revealed the Toyota Highlander as the new number one. The Toyota Highlander is a popular model in Canada, which is globally serviceable and has a high resale value both domestically and internationally so criminals can maximize their profits from the illegal sale.The trends continue to be similar to last year with preferences for newer models with nearly all of the vehicles on the national list being 2019 or newer. These vehicles tend to have vulnerabilities that come with keyless ignitions, particularly as they do not come equipped with anti-theft devices aligned to the ULC 338 Anti-theft Standards.

Collaboration is our biggest strength and the proof can be seen in the success of Équité Association’s recent ‘Scams Leave Lasting Scars’ campaign. The goal of the campaign was to leverage the momentum we have from combating auto theft to expand awareness to other forms of insurance fraud, focusing on the significant and often devastating human impact of these crimes.

Insurance was created to provide a foundation of security, and insurance crime fundamentally undermines this system, compromising that sense of safety and erodes our peace-of-mind. Any intentional activity to commit fraud by making inaccurate claims for financial gain constitutes insurance crime, which is a serious matter and one that has become more pervasive and emboldened in recent years.

On May 16, Équité Association’s Chief Technology Officer, Angel Yau-Vandenburg, was a featured industry leader on The Globe and Mail’s virtual panel, “Digital Frontline: Exploring IT Trends”. Alongside other IT industry leaders, the event examined how the latest IT trends are shaping the business and threat landscape.Angel has led the development and launch of ÉQ Insights, the first consortium-based intelligence platform to detect and prevent insurance fraud within the P&C industry, from the ground up.

As the national authority on insurance crime and fraud prevention, Équité Association is a not-for-profit organization, supporting Property and Casualty (P&C) insurers in Canada to fight fraud by using advanced analytics, intelligence best practices, and coordinated investigations.At Équité, we recognize that the cornerstone of our collective success is rooted in our unwavering commitment to meeting the needs of our members to meaningfully reduce insurance crime. In 2023, our continued commitment to deliver value to our member insurers while protecting Canadians against insurance crimes drove the following notable successes.