MPI reveals biggest insurance frauds of the year, which could have cost taxpayers

With thousands of suspected cases investigated in 2025, Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) is informing the public about its top five instances of insurance fraud and offering a glimpse into how much the crime costs the public every year.

“Unfortunately, auto insurance is happening a lot in Manitoba,” said Tara Seel, Media and Communication Lead with MPI. “All of those costs do trickle down to other Manitoba ratepayers.”  

A bodybuilder collecting payments while faking injuries after a minor collision, an arsonist who injured himself when a fire he set on purpose, and lied about, caused an explosion, and a reportedly stolen car found bound for Dubai, were listed by MPI as the top three instances of insurance fraud. 

The bottom two spots, a crash involving a Porsche where drivers were switched and a person lying about being unable to work, while running errands for the business, like carrying dozens of cases of beer without help for hours a day.

MPI’s Special Investigations Unit is saving Manitobans’ $2 million on these five cases alone, only a portion of the $17 million saved over the year.

“While we appreciate that it could be good for a chuckle, and we do pick the most interesting, stand out cases, the whole point of us is releasing that is making sure that people are aware that fraud is happening and the various forms it can take,” said Seel. 

Seel says the types of fraud the SIU is investigating are changing and getting more complex, investigating more than 2,600 cases of physical damage and bodily injury claims suspected of fraud last year. 

She says while the investigators at MPI are highly skilled, it also relies on people to report suspicious behaviour as well. 

Tracy Stahl, with the Hit and Run Alert Winnipeg Facebook page, says there have been posts where people are looking for information on instances where there’s potential for fraud, saying people like her are working hard to debunk the deviant behaviour. 

“People should be mad about this happening, because it’s affecting everybody,” said Stahl.

“They better watch it, because with the amount of dash cams, security cameras, even just traffic cameras, you’re being watched more and more these days than you were 20 years ago, and it’s a lot easier for them to get caught.” 

For more on MPI’s top five insurance frauds of 2025, click here.