New Zealand insurers, police, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and earthquake recovery agencies have established the Christchurch Fraud Prevention Working Group to combat scams resulting from the Canterbury earthquakes.

Insurers have also set up their own Insurance Fraud Working Group, which is developing a system to co-ordinate fraud reports and identify patterns.

Members are detecting double claiming and fraudulent claims for contents and temporary accommodation, according to the Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ).

The Earthquake Commission (EQC) has referred 21 files to the police and seen five convictions, with two hearings pending.

Since the February 2011 earthquake, the EQC investigations unit has examined 880 cases of irregularities, the commission’s GM Customer Services Bruce Emson says.

The issue was raised in Parliament last week, when the Government was asked for figures on the extent of fraud and how it is being tackled.

The SFO has also confirmed it is investigating transactions with an unnamed insurance company.

With about $NZ25 billion ($19.8 billion) expected to pour into the region in the coming years, the Canterbury rebuild is considered ripe for fraud.

Cases have included a professional woman being paid $NZ140,000 ($111,000) for a loss including jewellery, ICNZ Operations Manager Terry Jordan told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

When an investigator found the woman had moved to the North Island, he obtained the shipping manifesto and discovered almost every item in the claim had been moved to her new home.

Another policyholder was paid for temporary accommodation in a hotel, but moved his family to a caravan, then went on holiday to Australia for a month.

A landlord was paid for claims on several properties but an investigator drove past one of them and noticed lights were on. He found the tenant had not moved, and only one of the properties had been destroyed.

Mr Jordan says insurers are concerned about fraud in the rebuild, having already encountered contractors trying to strike deals with suppliers in which cash payments are made in return for orders.

He says the plan to share data and “war stories” will help investigators identify emerging trends.

The SFO has two investigations running on the rebuild, and Acting CEO Simon McArley says it is in regular contact with insurers.

But the office targets complex high-level fraud and most of the insurance scams being reported do not meet its criteria for investigation.

The EQC has a confidential investigation phone line for the public to report suspicious activity, plus an online form on its website.

“Internationally, it has been recognised that about 40% of frauds are detected as a result of people raising concerns about something that doesn’t add up,” Mr Emson said.