Confused about what you owe after a doctor’s visit? Understanding your medical expenses and your health insurance isn’t always easy at first, but once you break everything down, it’s a fairly simple process. One part of the process that you should know about is insurance reimbursement and what it means for your wallet.

You’ve probably seen a movie or two where the big reveal at the end is that the bad guy was committing some sort of fraud for a big payout. Maybe they were orchestrating a giant scheme to swindle people or faking some sort of injury for a big healthcare payout. Either way, the root of their devious plot was probably some kind of insurance fraud. But insurance fraud isn’t just something from the fictional media—there are real forms of insurance fraud that are punishable by law and that do occur in real life. 

So what is insurance fraud really? Insurance fraud is a deliberate action to deceive done by either the buyer or seller of an insurance policy. Insurance fraud is illegal and punishable by law. Insurance fraud perpetrated by the seller could include selling fake policies, churning policies for higher commissions, or failing to submit premiums. Buyers or third-party claimants can commit fraud by exaggerating or padding claims, falsifying history or claims, or faking payout events like a kidnapping. While those may sound like a movie plot, these types of fraud can happen and can have very serious consequences. The most common type of fraud is a policyholder exaggerating a claim while faking a dramatic kidnapping is rare.

What’s one word that sets off warning bells for most of us? Fraud, especially in the insurance world. For both policyholders and brokers, insurance fraud is a stressful and high-alert concern—unfortunately, fraudulent insurance activity steals at least $80 billion every year.

An especially challenging part of insurance fraud is understanding the different sources of fraud and the ways it’s committed. Insurance fraud includes organized crime activity that steals money via business dealings, insurance provider professionals who inflate, overcharge, or don’t actually provide insurance protection, and average citizens who see an opportunity to illegally make money with a faulty insurance claim.

Both policyholders and insurance brokers can both be victims of fraud, which is why there are more and more efforts being put into preventing fraud. The first step for anyone who wants to be prepared for fraud is to learn about the potential risks and fraud vulnerabilities. So, without further ado, here are the most common insurance frauds and how insurance companies mitigate risk.

We’ve all heard it in the business industry: “no risk, no reward!” But we hear it for good reason—business efforts are never totally risk-free. Still, companies are constantly working on minimizing risk and maximizing their profit, which can really only be done through intentional, data-driven decisions. Finding new ways to predict and manage risk is a big part of an overall business strategy. 

The real question is how do business leaders and decision-makers measure, evaluate, and minimize risk? Industries like finance, transportation, manufacturing, and construction are finding more success by using a better and more reliable tool called a risk model.

Creating a great workplace isn’t just about getting work done anymore. As an employer, you also need to make sure that you’re taking care of your employees and providing them with the support they need. Taking care of your employees isn’t just a nice thing to do anymore. Employee wellbeing is something that HR departments all over the country are ranking as one of the top priorities for companies, and the employee wellbeing industry is expected to boom. Employee wellbeing is both a way to create a great place to work and a way to keep up with the ever-shifting work landscape.