As the damage caused by traffic accident insurance fraud such as so-called “wrist hitting” did not decrease, the police decided to crack down on it intensively.
The National Police Agency’s National Investigation Headquarters announced on the 20th that it plans to crack down on traffic accident insurance fraud crimes from the 21st to October 31st. This year, the National Tax Service plans to crack down on traffic crime investigation teams (157 teams, 581 people), focusing on △ high school traffic accidents △ exaggerated reports △ false and exaggerated insurance claims after traffic accidents △ attempted crimes.
Police also cracked down on a total of 513 traffic accident insurance frauds and arrested 2,424 people last year. In particular, last year, the traffic crime investigation team of the Incheon Metropolitan Government arrested 71 suspects who committed insurance fraud worth 1.1 billion won by causing traffic accidents against vehicles that violated laws and regulations and recovered the amount of damage worth 168 million won.
As the amount of damage from traffic accident insurance fraud has continued to increase in the past three years, the police decided to crack down on it. According to statistics from the Financial Supervisory Service, the amount of insurance fraud damage in 2018 was 443.6 billion won, but it increased 12% to 497.4 billion won in 2020. The number of insurance fraud detected was 58,938 in 2018, but increased 20.4% to 79,949. In particular, the police explained, “The general public is easily exposed to insurance fraud damage, with office workers, housewives, unemployed, daily workers, and students accounting for nearly half of the total damage.”
In the event of a traffic accident insurance fraud, the police plan to quickly freeze the accounts paid for damages and actively confiscate and collect proceeds from crimes to support the recovery of stolen insurance. It will also support the recovery of actual damage by returning premium insurance premiums and administrative dispositions (penalty points) to the perpetrators of traffic accidents unfairly involved in insurance fraud.
Choi Won-joon, head of the National Police Agency’s traffic investigation department, said, “Anyone who drives can be a victim of traffic accident insurance fraud, and the resulting economic losses are borne by all Koreans, so please actively report insurance fraud crimes.”