An alleged sniper, pair of animal claims featured on MPI’s top five fraud list for 2024

From hitting animals that weren’t there to a sniper that didn’t exist, Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) has released its top five frauds of 2024.

The insurance company released its annual list Monday, noting these five frauds helped save ratepayers a total of $1.9 million.

Here are the top five frauds:

Coming in at number five was an alleged incident with wildlife on the highway. MPI said a claim came in where someone said they hit a deer on the highway coming home from the grocery store.

MPI found deer hair but noted the damage to the frame of the vehicle looked more like it hit a pole.

The claimant said they were travelling 110 km/h when they hit the deer that came from the right side of the road.

MPI brought in a collision analyst who determined the crash didn’t involve an animal, instead it was a pole or post.

Investigators believe the initial reasoning was used to disguise the damage that was already on the vehicle. MPI denied the claim, saving over $13,600.

Next on the list happened after an early morning crash that saw one vehicle roll over.

MPI said the drivers in each vehicle were injured in the crash, but this claim involved the driver who wasn’t in the rolled vehicle.

They were taken to hospital and said they didn’t remember being in the crash.

MPI investigated and learned the driver of the vehicle that rolled saw the other vehicle coming behind them and assumed they would pass. However, the second vehicle continued going straight, hitting the front vehicle, causing it to roll.

MPI said the claimant said they didn’t drive that night as they had been drinking and it was someone else who was driving.

“Further investigation by SIU showed the passenger side airbag in the claimant’s vehicle was not deployed. The front passenger seat was proven not to have been occupied at the time of the collision, and the vehicle had been going 180 km/hour at the time of the collision,” MPI said.

MPI said the claimant's blood alcohol level was over the legal limit. The claim was denied – which was almost $10,000—and they also had to pay the $49,000 bill for the other vehicle.

Third on the list involved another possible animal versus vehicle collision.

A claim opened with MPI saying someone hit a rabbit or coyote while travelling at 50 km/h, which caused them to swerve and flip the vehicle.

The claimant said they weren’t going any faster, and two passengers in the vehicle when it happened.

However, MPI went through the vehicle’s data and found it was being driven over 100 km/h before there was a hard brake and a swerve.

Following the investigation, MPI said the claimant admitted that they were sleeping at home when the crash happened, and their kid took the vehicle without asking.

The $33,000 claim was denied.

At number two, the claim involved a car fire and an alleged sniper using a silencer.

MPI said the claimant was checking on their vehicle – which didn’t have insurance – in a vacant parking lot. Someone told them to move it, so the person went and got a temporary policy.

As they were cleaning out their car, the claimant alleged a window was broken by a gunshot. They ran from the area.

Police and firefighters were called a short time later as a fire had broken out inside the car.

MPI said no evidence of gunfire was found.

Following an investigation, MPI learned the temporary policy was bought 45 minutes before the fire happened and that security footage showed the claimant standing by the vehicle six minutes before the fire happened.

There were also no reports of gunfire by anyone else, which the claimant told MPI that they thought it was a targeted attack and they were using a sniper with a silencer.

MPI also learned the car couldn’t start or be driven as parts were missing.

The $9,000 claim was denied.

Topping the list was someone who said they couldn’t function after a minor crash.

MPI said following a crash, the claimant said they couldn’t stand for more than five minutes and struggled moving multiple body parts.

They also needed assistance at home to get dressed and moving around. MPI said it was possible this person may never have been able to work again.

Once MPI investigated, it was learned the claimant could go shopping for several hours and carry bags during the process.

“The only time the claimant was seen to have difficulty was when they attended medical appointments, after which they would go shopping for hours with no issues,” MPI said.

Payments to the person stopped, and they had to repay $5,000 to MPI.

MPI noted this was a lifetime savings of $1.8 million.

In total, MPI saved $15 million in attempted frauds in 2024.