Fake insurance covers top fraud in 2022
Investigators at the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) are grappling with an explosion of forged insurance certificates which became the top fraud in the fourth quarter of last year.
Ten of the 38 reported cases involved the forgeries of motor vehicle insurance certificates raising alarm over the validity of vehicle stickers.
Kenya introduced digital insurance certificates that have helped companies reduce the cost of delivering physical stickers and curb cases of double insurance, fake and stolen insurance certificates. The digital certificates are verifiable via the short code *352# or the AKI Vehicle Insurance Certificate (AKI VIC) app.
Industry players, however, say customers sometimes cut shortcuts to pay less for covers falling prey to rogue agents who help them forge the certificates.
The IRA says during Q4 2022, 38 insurance fraud cases were reported to the Insurance Fraud Investigation Unit (IFIU). The number of fraud cases reported in each month of Q4 2022 were 13 in October, 16 in November, and 9 in December.
