What can be the consequences of insurance fraud?

Insurers take insurance fraud very seriously. If an insurer suspects fraud, they may investigate the claim or the insurance application. If it is discovered that you are committing insurance fraud, this can have serious consequences. We explain here what the consequences of insurance fraud are.

#1 Termination of the insurance

The insurance with which fraud has been committed is almost always terminated by the insurer. For example: you reported a broken mobile phone as stolen during your holiday. When the insurer discovers this, there is a big chance that he will terminate your continuous travel insurance immediately. Do you have other ongoing insurances with the same insurer? Then he will assess whether they are going to terminate these as well. By committing insurance fraud, you damage the trust of the insurer. They can no longer be sure that you comply with the agreed insurance rules, and therefore almost always choose to terminate all current insurance policies. Insurance fraud therefore affects all your insurance policies, not just the one with which you commit fraud.

#2 The cover is refused

In the event of established insurance fraud, an insurer will always refuse to pay the claim. It may even be the case that a whole claim is refused, while in fact only a small part has been defrauded. Imagine that your house is broken into. A number of things have been stolen, including a television and some jewellery. When filling in the claim, you decide to report an extra mobile phone as stolen. Nice, right? Not really, because if the insurer finds out, they may refuse to pay out the whole claim. The insurer will not reimburse the damages and you will be stuck with a lot of costs.

#3 Registration in insurer's fraud register

If your insurance is terminated due to insurance fraud, the insurer will save your data in their register. Many people confuse this with a so-called 'black list'. Insurers do not keep a black list of people, but they do register when and why an insurance has been terminated. It is intended to alert their own organisation and to ensure that you cannot take out insurance there again. Internal registrations are not visible to other insurers.

#4 CIS registration

An internal registration is not visible to other insurers, but a CIS registration is. Stichting CIS stands for Stichting Centraal Informatie Systeem. In their database, they keep all insurance data that is important to share with insurers. Not only insurance fraud is registered, but also defaulters, driving disqualifications or criminal records. Insurers and authorised representatives can enter this data into the national database. The purpose of the database is to make any risks manageable for insurers and to prevent fraud as much as possible.

With a CIS registration, it is difficult to take out a new insurance policy. Before an insurer accepts an insurance application, it always checks the CIS database. Are you registered for insurance fraud? Then there is a good chance that they will refuse your application. You then pose too great a risk for the insurer. With a CIS registration you can actually only turn to the insurance company De Vereende. De Vereende specializes in insuring special cases and risks. Because of their broad acceptance policy you can still take out insurance, even if you are registered for insurance fraud.