The insurance world was recently shaken to its core with news from the States that even insurance executives were involved in fraud.
According to The Onion newspaper, that well known source of truth and investigative journalism, Michigan insurance executive Gordon Krumrie admitted to faking his own life to collect a substantial payout.
The report states that Krumrie managed to nab over $300,000 over a 25 year period, which worked out at more than $5000 per month. “Plus bonuses,” Krumrie says.
After his scheme was revealed Krumrie admitted that the plan was hatched as far back as high school. Back then he faked an interest in business, became student council treasurer and president of the school chapter of Future Business Leaders of America.
Kumrie admits that it was a hard way to spend his youth but says credible cover had to be built early as it was one of the first things insurance investigators checked.
By the time he went to university the pattern was set with the lies and deception continuing with the wily young man deceiving fellow student and professors into thinking he had an interest in a career in financial services while he earned an economics degree.
“I spent four years playing along with those bastards, but I had to. Some of them had highly placed fathers in key firms.”
Trapped now in a life that was a sham Krumrie entered the industry in the early 80’s and quickly set about cementing the life that was a lie. He built an endless record of calls to head office, learnt important industry terms and called superiors by banal company nick names.
“I knew I could never let up. The tiniest slip, like forgetting to golf with the fellas on Saturdays, would look suspicious. You can’t give the insurance company any reason to suspect that your life is a fraud.”
However Krumrie was found out when cracks appeared in the façade, worn down by his hoax of an existence.
“Just a few more years, and I would have been be ready to end it all and cash in on that huge 401K. If I hadn’t buckled under the strain, I would’ve run off to some tropical island with Janice from accounting, and no one would have ever found me.”
“All that insurance money,” continued Krumrie, shaking his head. “But I just couldn’t keep it up. I couldn’t stand the lies. Faking your own life is harder than it looks.”
