From an arson attempt gone wrong to a ‘missing vehicle’ winding up Dubai-bound, Manitobans found creative ways to commit insurance fraud this year.
On Monday, Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) released its list of top five frauds of 2025.
According to the Crown corporation’s Special Investigation Unit (SIU), which investigates suspicious claims, this year’s picks helped save ratepayers a cool $2 million. In total, MPI saved $17 million in attempted fraud in 2025.
MPI’s top fraud of the year came following a minor two-vehicle collision. A claimant reported significant and very painful injuries, which they said rendered them unable to work, and claimed “just sitting down” caused them significant pain.
SIU investigated and found the “injured” person was actually an avid gym-goer who spent time lifting heavy weights and working on their squats.
MPI terminated all income replacement and personal care benefits, which saved ratepayers more than $300,000.
The second fraud on the list involved an injured arsonist.
The claimant said their commercial truck exploded in a hotel parking lot, creating a fire in its wake. They said they fought the fire with an extinguisher for 10 minutes to save the truck, but sustained significant burns which required hospital treatment.
SIU investigated the incident and found video evidence of the claimant staging and carrying out the arson. It said the explosion appeared unplanned, and there was no evidence of any attempt to put out the fire.
The claim was denied and saved around $1 million.
The third fraud case involved a vehicle with an international destination.
A claimant said they discovered their car had been stolen in a parking lot.
MPI reached a settlement with the individual but then received news from another investigating agency that the vehicle, along with 14 others, had been intercepted in a shipping container in Ontario—destined for Dubai.
SIU discovered the car had been in Ontario for several days before it was reported stolen. There were no signs of forced entry or tampering.
MPI said it’s in the process of reclaiming $51,657.54, which had been paid out for the claim.
The fourth fraud incident involved false statements regarding a two-vehicle collision involving a Porsche.
MPI said the first driver passed by the Porsche owner’s home and circled back when the Porsche started to back out of the driveway, allegedly accelerating and striking it. The driver of the other vehicle said they attempted to avoid the collision but, because of parked cars, had no room.
When accounts given by both parties and evidence did not match up, SIU began investigating.
MPI said the driver of the Porsche had left the car, run into the home, and returned with other people. It was also originally reported to MPI that the registered owner of the Porsche was driving and had two people with them. SIU discovered that the owner had not in fact been in the vehicle, and a person with a learner’s licence had been driving alone—and illegally. Additionally, both parties were known to each other, and an intentional act caused the collision.
The denied claim led to ratepayers saving $154,000.
The final incident on the list involved cases of beer.
A claimant, whose business required the purchase and transport of bulk supplies, initially said they were unable to perform many aspects of their job due to significant pain from a crash.
SIU began surveillance and found the claimant routinely was seen leaving their home running errands and was also seen shopping at multiple beer vendors and loading 18-20 cases of beer into their vehicle on their own without evidence of difficulty.
Their Income Replacement Benefits were terminated, which led to $480,000 in savings.
MPI is working on reclaiming the $19,000 in benefits that had already been paid out.
