Fraud costs everyone – from businesses and employees to entire communities. As part of Fraud Awareness Week, we’re spotlighting how fraud impacts our industry and what you can do to stop it before it starts.

Why Fraud Awareness Week matters 

According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, between $1-3 billion is lost in workers’ compensation fraud in California annually. This is the result of injured worker fraud, premium/employer fraud, and organized fraud. By staying informed and vigilant, we can maintain a fair and effective system that stops fraud at its source.

Our fraud prevention efforts 

We lead the state when it comes to fighting fraud with our Special Investigation Unit (SIU), having recovered and returned millions of dollars to the California’s workers’ compensation system. To do this, we take a multi-layer approach; we believe in success through working together by having a shared anti-fraud culture across our organization. All our employees are trained to spot fraud and are well-informed of SIU’s efforts. We also use data analytics to observe fraud trends to stay ahead of the game. Lastly, we work closely with anti-fraud communities such as law enforcement, the California Department of Insurance and even other insurance carriers.

We’re committed to making sure injured employees get the care they deserve, and that the system is fair for everyone. In one case, an auditor uncovered fraud after noticing that the payroll records didn’t match up. The employer had been underreporting payroll and failing to pay their employees what they were owed. Thanks to the investigation, we recovered $500,000 in financial restitution for lost premium.

How you can fight fraud in the workplace 

Check out Fight Fraud with Conviction to learn how to tackle fraud in your workplace. We have links to resources like Managing Your Worker’s Claim to educate your employees about their workers’ compensation rights. You can also check out our Workers’ Compensation Fraud webinar that covers types of workers’ compensation fraud, fraud prevention, helpful tips, and more.

If you would like to report suspected fraudulent activity, please email us at siumailbox@scif.com.