Assuralia, the Belgian association of insurers, is launching an awareness campaign this week to report fraud. According to the association, 7,169 cases of fraud were detected in 2024, amounting to a total of 147.5 million euros.
And that, they say, is just the tip of the iceberg. The association subtly points out that this fraud is passed on to the customer. According to Assuralia, every Belgian feels this in its wallet: ‘Unjustified expenses due to fraud cause costs to rise, which in turn makes premiums more expensive. A few individuals are ruining the system for the group. Fraud costs each family an estimated average of up to 150 euros per year.’
Wait a minute, so the user pays for his insurer’s failing fraud detection systems. That’s a strange twist. All service providers (banks, telecom, energy, etc.) have fraud detection tools, but I have never heard that the end user has to pay for them, or even more so, that everyone has to pay for those fraudsters. You might think, okay, insurance companies don’t have it easy, they’re poor, but no. According to Assuralia, the total profits of insurers in our country have risen from 2.8 to 3.2 billion euros. Ehmm… Wouldn’t it be better for them to invest in better fraud detection systems instead of making customers pay dividends to shareholders? Apparently, they are assured of their money.
