site.btaInsurance Company Alerts Institutions About Insurance Fraud Problems Since 2016

Sofia, August 2 (BTA) - Since 2016, the Lev Ins insurance company has been signalizing to the competent institutions and bodies about problems with insurance fraud in Italy that led to the draining of national resources worth dozens of millions of euro. The information came from the company's management at a BTA-hosted news conference.

Insurers note that following a signal to the Italian authorities, many magistrates, doctors and lawyers were arrested in connection with the insurance fraud. Signals were also submitted to the Bulgarian Interior Ministry, the prosecution service, the Financial Supervision Commission (FSC), the National Bureau of Bulgarian Motor Insurers (NBBMI), and to various European bodies.

Other Bulgarian insurance companies have also complained of fraud abroad. Lev Ins representatives noted that the Bulgarian authorities are ignoring the problem.

Participants at the news conference explained some types of insurance fraud related to car accidents, whereby the Bulgarian insurer is required to pay the damages to the victim(s). The fraud starts with medical persons forging documents about injuries, or by using the personal information of individuals who lost their personal ID. Lawyers would then institute a case of claims without the knowledge of the persons in whose names they are demanding a compensation. At a later stage, citizens who found out that their information was being abused, said before a notary that they never witnessed or participated in a road accident and that they have no claims towards the given insurance company.

Pavel Dimitrov, CEO of Lev Ins, commented that a report was presented on Thursday after an audit of the NBBMI about the claims filed. The report shows that violations have been committed and that there are thousands of unverified claims that provide no evidence but insist on compensation.

In Dimitrov's words, the former heads of the FSC and the NBBMI did not act on the problem until the end of 2018. Now, however, the new heads have voiced their decisiveness to deal with the situation. LI/TH
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