A large number of insurance fraud cases involving traffic accidents—staged at the moment of lane changes or fabricated to claim insurance payouts—have been detected. A total of 2,045 cases were confirmed over four months, with damages exceeding 750 million won.

The National Investigation Headquarters of the National Police Agency announced that it had concentrated its investigation on insurance fraud crimes using traffic accidents for about four months, from June 15 to September 30, detecting 2,045 cases and arresting 911 related individuals. Of these, 12 were detained. The damages revealed during the investigation amounted to 7.52 billion won (752,462,000 won).

The methods of the crimes were varied, ranging from claiming insurance payouts by disguising incidents as real traffic accidents to so-called 'wrist-striking,' in which parts of the body are deliberately struck against vehicles.

■ Deliberate accidents account for 76%... 'Lane-changing vehicles most frequently targeted'

Crimes involving deliberately causing accidents or manipulating the circumstances of actual accidents to fraudulently obtain insurance payouts accounted for a significant portion.

The most notable feature was the overwhelming prevalence of deliberate accidents disguised as coincidental traffic accidents. Deliberate accidents accounted for 1,559 cases, or 76.2%, of all detected cases. In other words, more than three out of four traffic accident insurance fraud cases involved deliberately causing accidents.

By specific method, crimes targeting vehicles changing course were the most common. Cases detected involving deliberately colliding with lane-changing vehicles numbered 600, or 29.3% of the total.

Accidents occurring while a driver changes lanes can involve disputes over fault, making them potentially susceptible to insurance fraud crimes. In particular, the driving conditions at the time of the accident and the circumstances of the collision become key factors in judgment.

■ Accident manipulation, prior conspiracy, and wrist-striking also numerous

Even when actual accidents occurred, crimes disguising accident details falsely to obtain insurance payouts were not uncommon. Cases involving manipulated accident details numbered 336, or 16.4% of the total. Cases in which accident parties conspired in advance to claim insurance numbered 319, or 15.6%.

Self-injury insurance fraud involving deliberately making physical contact with vehicles was also confirmed. Cases classified as wrist-striking and similar numbered 209, or 10.3% of all detected cases.

Such crimes are problematic not only because they cause financial harm to accident parties but also because they undermine trust in the insurance system. Repeated fraudulent insurance claims can affect insurers' loss ratios and premium calculations, potentially shifting the burden onto honest policyholders.

■ Shift to a standing enforcement system... strengthened analysis of SNS-based conspiracy

In this investigation, police focused primarily on habitual insurance fraud committed repeatedly and crimes causing accidents in an organized manner. At the same time, crimes disguised as relatively minor contact accidents were also included in the scope of investigation.

Enforcement against traffic accident insurance fraud will continue even after the intensive investigation period ends. The National Investigation Headquarters plans to move beyond concentrating investigative resources in specific periods and operate a standing enforcement system linking routine traffic accident investigations with specialized insurance fraud investigations. Traffic investigation teams at frontline police stations will actively check for circumstances suggesting insurance fraud and gather related intelligence while investigating ordinary traffic accidents. Traffic crime investigation teams at provincial and metropolitan police agencies will concentrate their investigative capabilities on analyzing similar accidents occurring across multiple regions and confirming whether crimes were organized.

In particular, police plan to strengthen investigations that analyze insurance fraud conspiracy signs via social networking services (SNS) and insurance payout cases to uncover repeated or organized crimes. Police will respond to insurance fraud crimes through a dualized enforcement system combining frontline police stations' field investigations and provincial police agencies' wide-area analysis.

■ 'Preserve dashcam footage'... precautions for drivers

The 2,045 insurance fraud cases confirmed in this intensive investigation and damages exceeding 750 million won demonstrate that crimes exploiting traffic accidents are occurring on a considerable scale. In particular, the fact that deliberate accidents targeting lane-changing vehicles accounted for the largest share calls for caution among ordinary drivers as well.

When a traffic accident occurs, it is important to secure records that can objectively verify the situation at the accident scene and vehicle movement routes. If there are doubts about the circumstances of the accident, it is necessary to preserve related materials such as dashcam footage and request police to verify the facts.

Police plan to continue enforcing the law not only against insurance payout scams disguised as accidents but also against conspiracy between accident parties and organized insurance fraud.

[Whether crimes are established in individual cases and criminal responsibility may vary depending on future investigations and judicial proceedings. AI assisted in part in the writing of this article.]