ICBC awarded nearly $3 million for staged crashes — May 27

Fighting fraud to keep insurance rates low and stable

A B.C. Supreme Court jury has awarded ICBC almost $2.93 million in damages as a result of 12 fraudulent insurance claims -10 of which involved “staged accidents” -that occurred in Lower Mainland in the late 1990s.

The defendants, Ahmed Faris, Gagik Grigorian, Salim Awada, Mohammed Awada, Ibrahim Elkassas, Paula Wilson Everitt, Hassan Awada, Janusz Przeworski, Louay Awada, Daniel Tomaszewicz, Khalid Arabi and Azhar Salh Ali were ordered to pay, based on their level of involvement in specific claims, a total of $72,251 in ICBC's investigative costs; $322,506 in ICBC's claims costs and $2,542,500 in punitive damages.

ICBC will also seek interest on the awards and the legal costs of obtaining the judgments.

“ICBC invests in fraud prevention because less fraud means low and stable rates for our customers, said Mark Withenshaw, ICBC's vice president of loss management. "We will not sit back and simply pass the cost of fraud onto our honest customers. We have a zero tolerance for fraud and we will pursue fraudulent claims aggressively."

ICBC's legal counsel at the trial, Michael Hewitt, said the punitive awards will send a strong message to the public. “Obviously the jury punished the individual defendants for the damage they did to ICBC and its customers,” he said. “But they also sent a message that if anyone thinks that these insurance fraud schemes might be a good idea, they should think again.”

ICBC filed a civil lawsuit in July 2003 against 21 people and three companies, alleging that, in different combinations, they conspired to intentionally cause 10 collisions and then made fraudulent claims to ICBC for compensation. Two claims not involving staged crashes were also included in the action.

Eight members of that original group of defendants were not involved in the jury award because they settled with ICBC prior to the trial, were dropped from the lawsuit or became part of a separate lawsuit to be tried next year.

At the trial, which took place over 2 1/2 weeks in Vancouver, ICBC presented evidence to the jury that 12 incidents of fraud involving the defendants -many of whom were associates -- occurred between 1996 and 2001. The majority of the crashes took place in Burnaby and Vancouver. ICBC was seeking to recover over $322,000 in claims costs paid, plus all additional costs related to its investigation, punitive damages, interest and legal costs.

ICBC had discovered that many of the collisions, which had appeared to be legitimate when the claims were made, involved people who had known each other and who had planned to stage the collisions in order to claim for compensation for vehicle damage and personal injuries.

Some of the individuals denied those relationships to investigators, and others admitted to them. However, the Court found all the defendants involved at the trial liable for fraudulently reporting the collisions. The jury awarded all of ICBC's claims for compensation of its own claim and investigation costs, plus punitive damages ranging from $55,000 to $900,000 against each of the individual participants.

The largest of the awards was made against Ahmed Faris, who was involved in six of the claims, and now faces judgments against him in excess of $1.1 million.

ICBC estimates that fraud costs each of its policyholder between $100 and $150 every year.

ICBC's Tip Line is a tool that helps combat fraud, averaging more than 1,000 calls every month from people reporting a range of vehicle-related issues. Information is confidential and callers can remain anonymous. The Tip Line number is 604-661-6844 or 1-800-661-6844.

For more information contact:
Doug Henderson
604-982-1332

ICBC reminds motorists to use extra caution this weekend — May 19

The Victoria Day long weekend is a time when many British Columbians head on to the highways for their first road trip of the spring/summer travel season. Roads can be crowded with long weekend travelers, and patience, courtesy and attention are important. To help holiday travelers stay safe, ICBC encourages people to remember the following tips

• Plan ahead and be realistic about travel time, allowing extra time for possible delays that may arise due to traffic volumes, construction or weather conditions.
• Slow down and leave plenty of space between your vehicle and the one in front.
• Spring brings out more motorcyclists. Drivers need to pay extra attention, and remember that motorcycles are often difficult to see in the mix of traffic.
• Get plenty of rest before you hit the road. If you feel tired, pull over and take a nap or take a walk to refresh yourself.
• Keep distractions to a minimum. That means don't talk on your cell phone, try to read a map, or eat while you are driving.

Last year, more than 500 people were injured and four people were killed in B.C. during the Victoria Day long weekend.

If you are involved in a crash over the weekend and need to file a claim, ICBC's Dial-A-Claim service is open to assist customers 24 hours a day, including holidays, at 604-520-8222 or 1-800-910-4222. You can also file your claim online at www.icbc.com.

For more information on road safety and driving in B.C., visit www.icbc.com.

For more information contact:
Doug Henderson
604-982-1332

Copyright © 2008 ICBC - Insurance Corporation of British Columbia