Criminal and Criminological Aspects of Insurance Fraud. Summary of the Doctoral Thesis

Abstract

The aim of the promotion paper is to investigate the nature of insurance fraud as a criminological phenomenon, to identify the essence and distribution of insurance fraud, to evaluate adverse impacts of it and to develop proposals for combating and preventing insurance fraud. The paper consists of an introduction, four chapters divided into several sections and subsections, conclusions and proposals, references and appendices. Results of the theoretical and practical knowledge analysis are presented in 17 figures (13 as attachments) and 8 tables. The introduction reviews the topicality of the study subject and states the study purpose, objectives, object and subject, as well as the scientific methods and methodology used. The first chapter of the paper is a review of insurance relationships, clarification of their nature and analysis of the related legislation and scientific literature in Latvia and other countries. The second chapter of the paper goes into the definition of insurance fraud, its nature, types, prevalence and consequences, and the impact of the economic processes thereon. The third chapter describes the surveys of Latvian residents, expert interviews, including interviews with Latvian judges on insurance fraud issues as well as preconditions for insurance fraud are analyzed. The fourth chapter offers techniques to prevent and combat insurance fraud. Sections of the paper’s empirical part describe the study design and basis for selection, research methodology, research processes, results and psychological interpretation. Conclusions and proposals are made based on theoretical analysis and empirical results obtained during the study. The bibliography consists of 169 literature sources and 52 others information resources in Latvian, Russian and English languages, as well as legislation and case law documents. Annex is attached to the research results of calculation tables, questionnaires description.