Last year, SGI’s Special Investigation Unit investigated 481 insurance claims, and 263 of those turned out to be fraudulent. Because these scammers were caught in the act, SGI ended up saving $5.9 million.

Spokesperson Tyler McMurchy cites one incident from last year, where an individual reported a large property theft from their garage. Investigators later determined that there was no garage on the property, and some of the missing items were listed by their owner on Facebook Marketplace.

McMurchy’s message is that insurance fraud hurts everybody, not just the insurance company. “The real victims of insurance fraud are everybody else who are also paying into that insurance company and wants that insurance coverage to be available to them when they have an actual claim,” he explains. “It’s not the big, bad insurance company that’s the victim, it’s everybody that has to pay for insurance.”

If you are caught committing insurance fraud, consequences can include a denied claim, higher premiums in the future, denial of future coverage, a cancelled home insurance policy, and even a criminal investigation. “People don’t want to be without insurance, so putting yourself in a situation where you are going to be on the hook for thousands of dollars as a result of a fraudulent claim or be in a situation where you are not able to get insurance coverage in the future can really put you in a bind.”

McMurchy adds that reports of insurance fraud are useful, appreciated, and can be made to SGI’s Special Investigation unit through an email at siu@sgi.sk.ca, or with an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers.