The big hunt for false claims is getting organized and is starting to bear fruit. Several cases have been transferred by the Ministry of Justice to the General Prosecutor’s Office which, as the Moroccan Federation of Insurance Companies (FMSAR) did a few years ago, has set up a platform dedicated to traffic accidents. These are mainly claims with bodily injury, accompanied by reports drawn up either by the police or by the gendarmerie. This reporting system aims to tackle a phenomenon that has taken on enormous proportions. The subject was raised by Abdellatif Ouahbi, Minister of Justice, on April 17, in the House of Representatives, following a written question from the PAM group on the existence of organized gangs specializing in false claims, and using false documents and false witnesses. Tapes that cause the insurance companies to lose significant sums.
“In fact, the perpetrators of these false disasters are not acting alone and are assisted by organized gangs, and everyone participates in the operation. Recently, we have set up a platform to track these cases, and we have identified a person who declared 32 traffic accidents. I wonder how come he is still alive”, the minister quipped.
In fact, this is not an isolated case. Other people have declared sometimes ten, fifteen accidents. Since it does not have the power to prosecute, the Ministry of Justice has transferred all these cases to the General Prosecutor’s Office to carry out the necessary investigations and decide on the follow-up to be reserved for cases of fraud.
False claims are committed according to different modi operandi, and after insurers have observed abuses, the Moroccan Federation of Insurance Companies (FMSAR) has set up a platform to detect false physical claims, managed by the anti-fraud services, which allows insurers, when declaring accidents, to systematically check via the platform before deciding to award compensation to the customer. When they consider that a loss is doubtful, on the basis of the observation of the number of accidents declared by a customer or in which the same vehicle is involved, insurers reject the request for compensation. “Generally, the case stops there and does not give rise to any prosecution,” adds the general insurance agent. The Federation of Insurance Companies (FMSAR) did not respond to L’Economiste’s request for information concerning the significance or not of false claims in the turnover of insurers.
Hassan EL ARIF
