Dozens of car and buildings insurance customers have fallen victims of an insurance scam that left them with forged insurance documents that are worthless.
The scam came to light when during a routine police check, an elderly motorist presented a current insurance document from a company that went bankrupt eight years ago.
In the last few months more than 2000 forged insurance certificates have been discovered all over Greece with a significant proportion coming from Crete. The majority of the forged certificates concern motor insurance and in many cases the motorist found that are in possession of an invalid certificate after they had an accident.
Check your insurance
The prosecuting authorities are investigating the cases but in the meantime it is possible for motorists to check the validity of their insurance on line using the registration number and their tax number at www.hic.gr#sthash.9yxo8tqk.dpuf
Dimitris Skitzis, president of the Association of Chania Insurers, said that following a report of fraud, the association advises customers to ensure that they buy their insurance from a certified agent and get a VAT receipt. Certified agents must be able to show evidence of their membership in the local Chamber of Commerce and their contact details.
The Association of Chania insurance agents is in the process of issuing membership cards to all its members so that customers can ensure that they use a legitimate insurance agent who works within the regulations of insurers code of practice, Mr Skitzis said
