By Mark Kapchanga
Imagine someone burying a coffin filled with a mannequin or cow meat and bones in the hopes of collecting more than Sh100 million on an insurance policy holder who never existed.
This is not fiction but reality in many countries and Kenya in particular. Insurance experts say the practice is common in Western Kenya.
"Funerals have given criminals a smooth avenue to loot from insurance firms," said a former life assurance manager. "The scam involves the normal buying of lifeinsurance. In less than two years, however, the insured would fake their own deaths to get huge sums of money within a short time."
They buy death certificates or sometimes fake drownings, because it provides a plausible reason for the absence of a body.
The most bizarre manifestation of this movement growing in Kenya was in Vihiga County in 2011. A 32-year-old man forged death certificates, bought a burial plot, buried empty caskets and staged fake funerals to lend credibility to an insurance fraud scheme. The man, with his two accomplices, bought insurancepolicies for 'ghosts', killed them off on paper and then staged their funerals.
An insurance firm began investigating the claims, which saw the cartel exhume a casket filled with a plastic dummy and cow parts. They had prepared invoices claiming the fake funerals were held at three different cemetries; and two companies advanced funds to cover the phony costs, according to prosecutors.
An insurance insider speaking in confidence said the man knew quite well how to fake death certificates. "He knew, too, what had to be said to the lifeinsurance companies so they would pay."
Critics say the shallow scrutiny or evidence of death required at the registrar of deaths has given these criminals a window of opportunity to bleed insurers.
The scam is so complex that when insurance companies send their independent investigators to the ground, they will find "strong evidence" of death such as freshly dug graves. Hospitals would also confirm admission of the "deceased" while funeral homes will confirm that they offered chapel, burial and funeral services for the dead and their families.
To make the death look real, a case is told of a father of six in Kisii who buried a dog in a cemetery and also performed last rites with the help of priests mid last year. He even hired villagers to mourn, staging a complete funeral.
"Since the insurance firms are under pressure to redeem their image, they end up paying the claims quite fast," said Godfrey Kioi, the CEO of Gateway Insurance.
Send Emails to wanabidii@googlegroups.com
Kujiondoa Tuma Email kwenda
wanabidii+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com Utapata Email ya kudhibitisha ukishatuma
Disclaimer:
Everyone posting to this Forum bears the sole responsibility for any legal consequences of his or her postings, and hence statements and facts must be presented responsibly. Your continued membership signifies that you agree to this disclaimer and pledge to abide by our Rules and Guidelines.
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Wanabidii" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to wanabidii+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
0 Comments