Summary

The minimum loss arising from insurance fraud constitutes 10 per cent of insurance payments. However, the public is as tolerant about insurance fraud as about tax evasion. In some cases, courts have interpreted the law in favour of the insured which may encourage insurance fraud.
At present, persons guilty of insurance fraud are punished pursuant to the provisions concerning fraud in the Criminal Code. However, if an attempt to commit a fraudulent act against a legal person is made but the legal person suffers no proprietary damage, the legal person cannot be a party to the criminal proceeding. As a rule, a legal person may be a plaintiff in a civil matter which is not possible if no proprietary damage has been caused to the legal person. Therefore, such legal person may be considered a victim. Qualification of insurance fraud as an independent category of crime would have a preventive effect on insurance fraud and is likely to reduce its number.