One Insurance Scam Detected Every Minute According To Experts

According to Sky News reports, one insurance scam is detected every minute. In the UK, staged "crash for cash" accident figures have fallen slightly but at the same time, fraudulent motor insurance claims have risen by 4% to £775m in 2017.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) said, that a total of 562,000 insurance frauds were uncovered in 2017. Of this total, 113,000 were dishonest claims, valued at £1.3bn.

It is true, that dishonest claims fell by 8%, but the value of those claims rose by 1%. The number of organised frauds, like staged "crash for cash" accidents fell 22% on 2016, with fraud worth £158m uncovered. The ABI director for general insurance policy, James Dalton, said:

"The vast majority of insurance customers are honest, and they rightly resent fraudsters pushing up their insurance costs.

"This is why the industry makes no apology for spending around £250m a year on measures to tackle insurance fraud.

"It is good that organised fraud fell, especially as scams like staged accidents can often put lives at risk and involve huge amounts of money.

"But, with the Insurance Fraud Bureau currently investigating a rising number of suspected insurance frauds, there will be no let-up in the crackdown on the insurance cheats.

"The rise in opportunistic motor fraud highlights that the stricter regulation of claims management companies, some of whom encourage dishonest claims, cannot come in soon enough."

Kinds of insurance scams uncovered included:

A cyclist claimed £135,000 compensation for injuries he claimed he sustained when he fell off his bike after hitting a pothole. However, the evidence showed that the accident happened when he fell off on a slippery road at another location. He was given a stiff sentence and jailed for three-and-a-half years.
A bodybuilder, who claimed £150,000 for a back injury, was later filmed doing a press-up challenge. He was ordered to pay £35,000 in legal costs.
The ringleader of a gang who staged a bus crash to try to get £500,000 in insurance pay-outs for fake injuries was jailed and banned from driving for two years. He staged the crash between a bus and a rental car. He had eight of his fellow fraudsters on the bus who claimed for fake injuries to necks and hips.
A student was convicted after attempting to claim £14,000 through six invented claims following a trip to Venice, including the alleged loss of an iPod, laptop and designer watch.
A four and half year police investigation into a huge crash for cash staged accident operation in South Wales, which netted the ringleaders £2 million, led to the convictions of 150 people.
A man was jailed for three years and eight months for selling fake motor insurance policies to unsuspecting motorists.
After staging a road accident, two fraudsters appeared uninjured until the ambulance arrived, when they then started feigning injury. Each received a jail sentence.

Author

Justin Kavanagh
Justin Kavanagh is a recognised leader in automotive intelligence and vehicle data supply to the entire motor industry. He has almost 20 years experience in building systems from the ground up. As the Managing Director of Vehicle Management System, he understands the need and importance of trustworthy and reliable vehicle history and advice to both the trade and the public.
Follow me on LinkedIn