Cash-Strapped Citizens Fake Break-ins

Many South Africans are reporting false hijackings, housebreakings and other theft claims in order to get rid of their monthly repayments and be paid out by insurance companies.

Insurance investigators report that there has been an increase in the number of people staging housebreakings to make money from insurance policies or claiming their vehicles were hijacked or stolen because they could no longer afford them.

Marius Heystek, a senior partner at AM Heystek and Associates, which specialises in insurance fraud, said the problem of false insurance claims had "always been there", but had now increased. "It is very clear when a house has not been broken into as the owner claims," he said.