MrsGhandi
09-18-2003, 11:01 AM
This is one of our fantastic clients out in Arizona....serves him right...too bad they aren't all this easy.
American Family's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) works to fight insurance fraud to keep premiums affordable for customers.
The claim was for theft of a truck. However, when the truck was recovered in the desert with large dents and other damage on the interior and exterior, the local Phoenix Claim Office referred the claim to SIU for further investigation.
Senior Investigator Blane Barker discovered the truck was smashed by a sledgehammer and that the tip of a flat-head screwdriver was broken and lodged in the ignition. Blane began to suspect that the customer might have damaged the vehicle in order to collect insurance payments.
Then he discovered a shopping list under the driver’s seat.
It read, “Sledgehammer, big flat-head (screwdriver), kerosene.”
“It was a shopping list for what the customer needed to destroy his vehicle,” says Kelly Arnold, SIU manager. “He never got around to burning the vehicle.”
“The customer had very distinct handwriting, and I could tell it was his,” Blane says. “Very few people write a ‘things to do to commit insurance fraud’ list and leave it for us to find. When I pulled out the list, he confessed. He was behind on his payments for the vehicle.”
Blane referred the case to the Arizona Department of Insurance, which worked with state law enforcement authorities to file charges. The customer was later convicted and sentenced to pay $25,000 in restitution to the Company.
American Family's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) works to fight insurance fraud to keep premiums affordable for customers.
The claim was for theft of a truck. However, when the truck was recovered in the desert with large dents and other damage on the interior and exterior, the local Phoenix Claim Office referred the claim to SIU for further investigation.
Senior Investigator Blane Barker discovered the truck was smashed by a sledgehammer and that the tip of a flat-head screwdriver was broken and lodged in the ignition. Blane began to suspect that the customer might have damaged the vehicle in order to collect insurance payments.
Then he discovered a shopping list under the driver’s seat.
It read, “Sledgehammer, big flat-head (screwdriver), kerosene.”
“It was a shopping list for what the customer needed to destroy his vehicle,” says Kelly Arnold, SIU manager. “He never got around to burning the vehicle.”
“The customer had very distinct handwriting, and I could tell it was his,” Blane says. “Very few people write a ‘things to do to commit insurance fraud’ list and leave it for us to find. When I pulled out the list, he confessed. He was behind on his payments for the vehicle.”
Blane referred the case to the Arizona Department of Insurance, which worked with state law enforcement authorities to file charges. The customer was later convicted and sentenced to pay $25,000 in restitution to the Company.