Insurers must guard against fraudulent claims in many forms. Few, however, reach the heights of audacity achieved by a group of people in the United States early last year.
The claim, on its face, seemed straightforward. The unfortunate insured had left their car parked in the driveway of their house at Lake Arrowhead, California, when, late one night, a passing bear entered the car and wrecked the interior. This was not unprecedented. Last year, in the Ontario township of Larder Lake, bears developed a taste for the foam in car seats and wrecked a number of vehicles. But this claim had some unusual features, and when investigators took a closer look, it became clear that it was very odd indeed.
The claimants provided security camera footage which they said clearly showed the bear entering the car and crawling around, damaging the upholstery. The bear showed good taste; the car was a Rolls Royce Ghost. The video did indeed show a large, furry creature entering the car and moving around, clawing at the seats. They also provided photos evidencing scratch marks to the seats and door panels of the cars.
The claim seemed valid.
But the insurer smelled a rat. Something about the video footage looked odd. The insurer instructed investigators to examine the video footage. The investigators had a wildlife biologist review it, who concluded that the footage was not consistent with typical bear movements and that the offending animal was “clearly a human in a bear suit”.
Insurers informed the California Department of Insurance (CDI). “Operation Bear Claw” was initiated. The CDI discovered that two additional claims had been made for damage to cars caused by a bear in the same location, on the same date, 28 January 2024. All of the claims had been supported by video footage from the same security camera. The other two cars were a Mercedes G63 AMG and a near new Mercedes E350. The insurance companies had accepted the claims and paid a total of USD141,000.
On 13 November 2024, the CDI’s Fraud Division executed search warrants at the address. The evidence seized included a bear suit and a set of meat claws that matched the damage in the car interiors. The evidence was circumstantial, but compelling. Four suspects were arrested and charged with insurance fraud and conspiracy.
What lessons for the insurance industry? Perhaps only that there is no limit to human ingenuity, so we should keep an open mind and be ready to entertain even the most unlikely of possibilities. And perhaps that a Department of Insurance with a well-resourced Fraud Division might be useful.
The video is, of course, available online.
