Finger Broken with Hammer and Vehicle Crossing Center Line 'Crash'... Insurance Fraud 'Baektae'

'Prison Cellmates and Lovers Involved' Insurance Fraud Gang Arrested

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] Although the scale of insurance fraud detection increases every year, insurance fraud remains widespread. Recent insurance fraud cases revealed that many people were involved, and 'livelihood-type fraud' taking advantage of the economic downturn has also increased.

The Busan Metropolitan Police Agency announced on the 24th that three people, including Mr. A, were arrested on charges of violating the Special Act on the Prevention of Insurance Fraud, and 31 accomplices, including Mr. B, were sent to prosecution without detention.

They used the 'rear-end collision' method, intentionally violating traffic laws or deliberately crashing into accomplices' vehicles, to claim over 100 million won in traffic accident insurance money. It was also revealed that they intentionally broke their own fingers with a hammer to receive higher settlement amounts.

Mr. A and the other two are accused of intentionally colliding with vehicles violating traffic laws, such as driving in the wrong direction or crossing the center line due to illegal parking, or deliberately rear-ending accomplices' vehicles, obtaining about 190 million won in traffic accident insurance money over 18 incidents from July 2018 to May 2020.

They were found to have intentionally caused traffic accidents, been hospitalized, and then claimed settlement money and other compensation.

Mr. A and the other two reportedly assigned roles such as driver and passenger to prison acquaintances, lovers, and friends who needed urgent money, committing the crimes and then dividing the insurance money according to their roles once it was deposited.

Among the group, Mr. C is also charged with falsely reporting to the insurance company that three accomplices were injured in an accident after fracturing their left fingers by hitting them with a hammer to obtain a larger settlement.

Over 40% of Insurance Fraud Involves Vehicle Insurance

Last year, a man in his 20s who committed traffic accident insurance fraud with neighborhood friends and extorted over 100 million won was sentenced to prison in the first trial.

The Seoul Western District Court sentenced Mr. Kang to two years in prison in November last year for violating the Special Act on the Prevention of Insurance Fraud.

Mr. Kang is accused of committing traffic accident insurance fraud 14 times from around October last year to March this year, obtaining 137.19 million won in insurance money.

He is believed to have conspired with about seven people, including neighborhood friends and seniors and juniors, renting rental cars and deliberately colliding with vehicles changing lanes.

It is reported that Mr. Kang committed crimes about three times a month over six months using ten different vehicles. They were caught after being reported by an insurance company.

Meanwhile, financial authorities plan to conduct targeted investigations on areas vulnerable to insurance fraud or where fraud has surged, such as insurance using shared vehicles, indemnity insurance, and golf insurance.

The Financial Supervisory Service analyzed insurance money fraudsters received over the past three years to identify vulnerable sectors. Insurance fraud using driver insurance (6.0% of total accident insurance money) was the most common, followed by fire insurance (3.9%), regular insurance (3.8%), travel insurance (3.3%), and whole life insurance (3.0%). Among diseases, insurance fraud involving self-harm and burns (8%) was the highest.

The amount of insurance fraud was highest in health insurance (174.4 billion won), followed by accident insurance (169 billion won) and whole life insurance (165.8 billion won). In a whole life insurance fraud case, a woman, Ms. B, colluded with a man, disguised herself as his wife, subscribed to three whole life insurance policies, and after the real wife died, embezzled 800 million won in insurance money and was caught.

The Financial Supervisory Service shared these results with insurance companies and decided to concentrate investigative personnel on vulnerable sectors. They also plan to conduct broad investigations ranging from frequently abused indemnity insurance to golf insurance and insurance fraud using shared vehicles.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.