Canada’s property and casualty insurers announced today the launch of a national insurance crime TIPS line to make it easier for Canadians to report auto theft, insurance fraud, staged auto collisions and other insurance-related crimes.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), which will administer the new tips line, says insurance crime costs insurance companies and policyholders approximately $3 billion a year.

Canada’s P&C insurers want Canadians to take the time to report insurance crime. Anyone with information about a possible insurance crime can call the toll-free TIPS line at 1-877-IBC-TIPS (422-8477) or submit a tip on-line at www.ibc.ca. All tips are kept confidential.

“We’re asking for people to use their judgement. If you’re offered a deal on a car that sounds too good to be true, report it. If you overhear someone talking about stealing a car, report it. When you submit a tip, IBC will work with its member companies and the authorities to make sure the wrongdoers are brought to justice,” says Andre Beauchamp, Director, Auto Theft, IBC. “If you are sick of standing by and watching other people cheat while you pay for it, now you have a way to fight back.”

Insurance Bureau of Canada is the national trade association of the private {&C insurance industry. It represents more than 90% of the non-government home, car and business insurance in Canada.