Insurance fraud – a study in selection

According to the insurance industry organisation Insurance Sweden, insureds made approximately 2 million claims in 2014. According to industry estimates, insurance companies indemnified losses in the amount of approximately SEK 50 billion and denied payment in the amount of approximately SEK 400 to 500 million. In addition, the companies conducted approximately 7,000 investigations of questionable occurrences and suspected frauds (Swedish Insurance 2014). Of these, approximately 300 were reported to the police.

It is difficult to comment on the accuracy with which the costs and reporting frequency reflect actual criminality. Moreover, the subject does not fall within the scope of the present reports. Our focus is on studying how the insurance companies and the justice system identify and investigate insurance fraud; the analysis of the work involved in discovering and investigating insurance fraud is based more precisely on a selection and organisational theory perspective.