Canadians Would Break Bones, Burn Down Homes And Crash Cars For An 'Insurance-Paid Upgrade'

TORONTO, Feb. 25, 2020 /CNW/ - It may seem like un-Canadian behaviour, but new research from Finder Canada shows that a surprising number of Canucks not only hope for an 'insurance-paid upgrade,' but would actually crash a car, break a bone or burn down a house to get it … if they wouldn't get caught.

"Honestly, we thought the numbers for the illegal insurance actions would be much lower," said William Eve," Country Manager for Finder Canada. "We began this as an exercise to show how stereotypically honest Canadians are."

Key Findings of the research:

i) Canadians are willing to do the crime… if they don't get the time!

21% – one in five Canadian adults - would stage an event or mislead an insurance company to get an insurance-paid upgrade… providing they don't get caught.

12% would crash their car or pretend it was stolen, 10% would flood or burn down their house and 6% would go as far as breaking their own arm or pretend to have a chronic illness for insurance money.

More than twice as many men (13%) vs. (6%) women would burn down or flood their home. Significantly more men (15%) vs. women (8%) would crash a car or pretend it was stolen.

ii) Younger Canadians are more likely to create a car catastrophe

Gen Z (26%) and Millennials (16%) are far more likely to crash, damage or say their car was stolen than older Canadians–like the Silent Generation (5%), and Baby Boomers (5%).

iii) Nearly half of Canadians are secretly hoping for an insurance-paid upgrade

43% of Canadians surveyed said that they are secretly hoping for damage to their property and possessions to get an upgrade.

iv) Many Canadians are unhappy with their cars

27% of Canadian adults are hoping for an insurance paid upgrade on their cars and 24% would endure a car accident (where no one is hurt but the car is totaled) to get one. On the extreme side, 11% of Canadian adults would endure a car crash where they broke bones but suffered no permanent damage to get an upgrade.

v) Nearly no-one would endure a bed bug infestation for the insurance money
Only 8% of Canadians would suffer through a bed bug attack for an upgrade, meaning they would prefer to suffer through a car accident (24%), a massive flood in their home (14%), or a fire where their home burns down (16%) than deal with bed bugs.

"The truth is that false claims and fraud drive insurance costs up for all Canadians," added Eve. "For those who are caught, there are severe fines, costs and even jail time. At the very least, they lose their coverage and ability to get insurance coverage in the future. It's much smarter (and safer) to carefully compare policies and get the very best deal possible on insurance premiums."

You can find the full report here: www.finder.com/ca/insurance-paid-upgrade-report

Please refer to this Finder Canada research in any media coverage

About Finder Canada:

Millions of North Americans use Finder to help them make better financial decisions. Finder understands that making everyday life decisions such as finding a credit card, buying a home and getting health insurance can be daunting. That's why we're here. Our goal is to help Canadians navigate those complex decisions by making them less of a chore (and hopefully less of a bore, too!)

Methodology:

Data is from a national representative survey of 1,200 Canadian adults commissioned by Finder and conducted by PureProfile in February 2020.

SOURCE Finder Canada

Patrick McCaully, Pointman News Creation, [email protected]