Cars hit by shells or debris are reported for theft and other incidents.
Cars are often damaged during rocket attacks or shelling.. Their owners are trying to compensate for losses if the cars were insured. However, damage resulting from military actions is most often excluded from insurance claims, so insurance companies quite rightly do not pay for them.
Some car owners are trying to get out of it to get a payment from the insurance company.. Sometimes they use fraud and deception. The “Ministry of Finance” found out from our insurers what fraud schemes Ukrainians use to receive money in wartime.
Most CASCO insurance contracts do not cover damage from military actions. That is, if a car was fired upon during a raid, a missile attack or a drone crash (there was damage from bullets, mines, debris, a shock wave, etc.), then the insurance company does not pay anything. This is an insurance exclusion, force majeure (force majeure), described in the rules and agreement with the insurance company. In addition, as early as 2014, insurance contracts of companies do not work in the territory of hostilities and in occupied areas. This approach is practiced not only in relation to cars, but also real estate and other property.
Ukrainian insurance companies began insuring military risks only in 2023. But more often partially (covering 10-15% of the insured amount) and within the framework of bank lending under separate programs. The insured property is automatically collateral. However, the phenomenon did not become widespread.
To cover the damage, people began to come up with various tricks to get insurance payout during the war. Someone understood that they were acting illegally and that this was a scam, while others didn’t even think about it seriously and were ready to use any tricks to get money. At the same time, insurers say that sometimes law enforcement officers help people.
At the beginning of the invasion, there were situations where clients contacted the insurance company with cases of car damage, but reported illegal actions of third parties. Sometimes drivers not only tried to pass off some injuries as others (military as non-military), they even staged entire stagings. For example, a fire in the garage. But as a result, people lost even more than from the initial harm.
Another option is that after the bombing people talked about car theft. If a vehicle cannot be restored after shelling or bombing, the insurance company is not immediately notified of this. The driver waits for weeks or even months, and then declares to the Investigative Committee that his car was stolen from some deserted place (without cameras). Typically, the theft deductible is 5% of the insured amount, so the opportunity to receive 95% of the insured amount is a very good result.
Insurers note that they are trying to investigate allegations of theft as thoroughly as possible to prevent fraud.. However, sometimes this is quite difficult to identify and prove.. Especially in conditions of active movement of Ukrainians around the country, when cars were insured in some cities and then moved to others. The driver could drive the car to a relatively calm Ukrainian region, and report the theft exactly where there were no enemy attacks, and he would not be suspected of deception.
Financiers always warn people against deception and schemes, explaining that this insurance fraud can be punishable under Art.. 190 (fraud) and art.. 358 (forgery of documents, seals) of the Criminal Code. Responsibility starts from fines (for example, 1 thousand. tax-free minimums – 17 thousand. UAH) up to 2-3 years of restriction of freedom.
Although insurers admit they have problems holding fraudsters accountable. The problem is that Ukrainian legislation does not provide a broad interpretation of the term “fraud”, therefore the concept of “fraud” in the Criminal Code of Ukraine is interpreted as “taking possession of someone else’s property or acquiring the right to property through deception or abuse of trust”. Moreover, unlike other European countries, in the Criminal Code of Ukraine there is no such thing as “insurance fraud” or “insurance fraud”.
In addition, law enforcement and judicial authorities often delay the consideration of such cases. However, insurers try to thoroughly investigate insurance claims to prevent misrepresentations on the part of clients. Especially when it comes to large claims cases.
