The amount of detected insurance fraud reached a record high in the first half of this year.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service on September 28, the amount of insurance fraud detected in the first half of this year stood at 620 billion won, an increase of 51.8 billion won (9.1%) compared to the same period last year.

The number of individuals caught came to 53,865, marking an increase of 2,849 people (5.6%) over the same period.

The FSS attributes the rise in detected amounts to its expanded cooperation with related organizations to actively crack down on hospital-led insurance fraud.

By insurance type, auto insurance accounted for the largest share at 288 billion won (46.5%), followed by long-term insurance at 264.5 billion won (42.7%).

Long-term insurance saw the largest increase in detected amounts, rising by 34.3 billion won compared to the same period last year, while auto insurance increased by 8.8 billion won.

By type of fraud, fabricating accident details (61.3%) was the most common, followed by false accidents (17.4%) and intentional accidents (13.9%).

Among detailed types, excessive claims such as forged medical certificates (+39..9 billion won) and manipulated car accident details (+18.5 billion won) saw sharp increases.

By age group, people in their 60s accounted for the highest proportion at 24.6%, followed by those in their 50s (22.8%), 40s (17.8%), and 30s (15.6%).

By occupation, office workers accounted for the largest share at 27.2%, followed by full-time homemakers (10.9%), the unemployed and daily workers (9.2%), and transportation workers (4.2%).

The FSS stated, "Moving forward, we will collaborate with the police from the investigation stage to increase the rate of launching investigations and shorten the time required to request investigations," adding, "We will promptly cancel the registration of insurance planners convicted of insurance fraud so they can no longer remain in the market."

The FSS noted that it is operating a "Special Reporting and Reward Period for Insurance Fraud" until the end of next month, urging active tips and reports.

(Photo: Yonhap News)