Insurance Fraud Offense in the Algerian and American Systems: Between Theory and Application in Determining Criminal Liability Rules

Abstract

The crime of fraud and deceit in the field of insurance is among the most dangerous newly emerging offenses that threaten both the public and private sectors. This is because it does not affect only insurance companies ; rather, its harmful consequences spread to policyholders and to society as a whole. Fraud in insurance, in both the Algerian and American systems, revolves around the idea of resorting to fraudulent methods and techniques in order to exploit insurance contracts, with the aim of obtaining an unjust, unlawful profit, and it is given a criminal description.

When discussing the rules for implementing and establishing criminal liability for the crime of insurance fraud and deceit in these two pieces of legislation, we find that there is a divergence between them in terms of the legislative approach. Thus, whereas the Algerian legislator limits itself to the general rules for classifying the act as fraud and deceit, the American system has devoted an independent and stringent legal arsenal to distinguish between civil and criminal fraud concerning these undesired behaviors in the insurance field. This is what will be studied in this article between theory and practice, in determining the provisions governing criminal liability.