OREANDA-NEWS. November 12, 2009. Based upon the results of 9 months of 2009, ROSNO Security Department states that the number of insurance fraud cases continues growing (+7% as compared to the same period of the previous year). Among the trends of the year 2007 observed by the company has not only been the increase in fraud cases, but also the expansion of fraud to the regions, as well as the performance of fraud by persons losing job as a result of the crisis, reported the press-centre of ROSNO.

The largest growth of insurance fraud was traditionally observed in Moscow and St. Petersburg, though, recently, insurance fraud cases have been increasingly registered in the regions. Malefactors often attempt to defraud the insurance company in large regional capitals, particularly in the Ural (Kurgan, Chelyabinsk). The portrait of a mainstream fraudster now includes unemployed — namely, those who have lost their jobs to the crisis. Previously, ROSNO Security Department already predicted that the tension vector will move from the centre to the regions and took necessary measures to prevent insurance fraud at the regional level.

According to the results of 9 months of 2009, ROSNO Security Department prevented unlawful payments for the total amount exceeding 80 million roubles. Just as before, the largest number of attempts to defraud the insurance company is made in motor insurance (whether in MOD or OMTPL) and voluntary life insurance.

ROSNO Security Department notes that, though the Internet facilitates performance of fraud, it is also instrumental in discovering and preventing unlawful acts. Fraudsters are actively discussing possible schemes for deceiving insurers at various forums. Novice fraudsters do not hesitate to ask questions and obtain exhaustive recommendations from their more experienced “peers”. ROSNO Security Department monitors such discussions. Thus, in July 2009, during web monitoring at one of the car discussion forums, the Security Department employees uncovered an extensive correspondence between several users which clearly revealed that ROSNO is going to fall victim to a fraudulent scheme (staged traffic accident followed by submission of an unlawful OMTPL compensation claim). The only thing the Security Department had to do was to wait for the "victim’s" visit to the company with claim application. After the fraudulent claimant’s application was rejected, he started discussing this at the car forum, where the more "experienced" peers praised operation of ROSNO’s security system.