Insurance fraud can be a serious allegation for any accused individual that they should regard with concern and ensure they know who to respond to. Insurance fraud may be alleged in circumstances when an insured individual is accused of making a false or exaggerated insurance claim.
Insurance Fraud Defined
Insurance fraud involves seeking compensation for injuries, losses or other harm that was not actually suffered by the insured making the insurance claim. Deceptive acts that are intended to obtain an improper payment from an insurer that is not due to the insured is considered insurance fraud. Fraud crimes generally involve the use of deception to obtain a personal benefit. Everyday individuals, professionals and others can find themselves facing insurance fraud charges.
The Two Types Of Insurance Fraud
There are generally two types of insurance fraud including what are considered soft fraud crimes and hard fraud crimes. Soft fraud may be what the insured considers a minor exaggeration or false claim that is designed to maximize the insurance claim they are making. Hard fraud involves when an insured individual deliberately fakes an accident, injury, theft, arson or other type of loss to illegally obtain an insurance payment. A variety of examples can range from a faked car accident or other loss, false slip-and-fall claim to a medical care provider inflating billing.
For those accused of insurance fraud, they may wind up facing serious penalties and consequences as a result. They should understand what is considered insurance fraud and how to protect themselves when they are facing insurance fraud allegations, accusations and charges.