A shocking report out of the UK – pet owners are going so far as to kill their pets in order to collect on insurance policies.
The Association of British Insurers says pet insurance fraud rose to nearly $3 million in 2010 from about $670,000 in 2009, the Telegraph reports.
Pet insurance fraud is the fastest-growing kind of insurance crime in the U.K., the association says.
More than 2 million cats and dogs were insured last year and just about every type of animal can be covered, the Telegraph reports.
Darryl Rawlings, CEO of Seattle-based
Trupanion,says in the UK, some polices allow a rider in which a pet owner can be reimbursed for the “value” of the animal if it dies prematurely or is killed in an accident.
“I paid $2000 for my labradoodle so I want $2,000 so I can get another one,” he said. “We don’t think pets are like art or something that’s replaceable.”
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