Ontario insurance groups commend government's steps to reduce fraud
With the release of its 2011 budget, the Ontario government is devoting a significant number of resources to curbing auto insurance fraud in the province. As a result, insurance organizations are lauding their efforts.
"Insurance fraud is a problem that affects all Ontarians who are concerned about crime, public safety and increased auto insurance premiums," said Ralph Palumbo, vice president of the Insurance Bureau of Canada in Ontario. "We appreciate the efforts of the government for taking these first steps to combat this escalating problem and hope more will be done in the future."
The budget includes a number of actions will happen soon to help stamp out auto insurance fraud, including the establishment of an auto insurance anti-fraud task force to help investigators better determine just how serious a problem auto insurance fraud is. There will also be greater use of the health claims for auto insurance database so fraud can be detected early.
New regulations were also put into effect in September 2010 to help crackdown on auto insurance fraud, showing the government's desire to quickly curb it. The IBC says it costs consumers billions of dollars each year.