Crash for money scams – where crooks deliberately trigger a road accident to trigger corrupt insurance coverage claims – are helping add £50 a year to the expense of motor insurance.
The Association of British Insurers says the worth of fraudulent insurance coverage claims for all kinds of insurance coverage cover rose to a record £1.3 billion in 2013, up 18% on the preceding year.
Insurers detected a total of 118,500 bogus or exaggerated insurance coverage claims final year, equivalent to 2,279 a week, or over 325 a day.
Worsening problem
Fraudulent motor insurance claims have been the most pricey and commonplace, with 59,900 dishonest claims –– up 34% on 2012. The total expense was £811 million, up 32%.
This equates to a £50-a-year hit on truthful drivers’ premiums, meaning typical premiums – which have tumbled to £390 a year, according to MoneySuperMarket research – could be nicely below £350. That would save drivers about 13%.
Fighting fraud
So what is the insurance coverage market undertaking to tackle the issue?
Insurance fraud is a crime, so the police are involved by means of the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department, a specialist unit set up in 2011. It has so far secured 85 prosecutions of insurance coverage fraudsters, with motor insurance coverage fraud representing the lion’s share of its accomplishment.
The Insurance coverage Fraud Bureau (IFB) was designed in 2006 to tackle organised motor insurance coverage scams. Its existing workload involves investigating 110 ‘crash for cash’ scams with a total cost of £120 million.
What if you’re a victim?
There are factors you can do to safeguard your self from crash for money criminals.
If you’re caught up in what you suspect is a bogus accident, collect as much details as attainable at the scene to thwart the scam:
- Take photographs of the accident on your mobile or carry a disposable camera in your glove box
- Preserve a notebook and pen in the vehicle, and jot down info about the other car, including visible damage
- Record the number of passengers in the other car – numerous fraudsters exaggerate the quantity of passengers to inflate personal accident claims for whiplash
- Seek an independent witness
- Insist on calling the police
- Always share as much information as possible with your insurer
- Place security 1st. If the other men and women involved turn into belligerent, try not to aggravate the situation, and prioritise the welfare of yourself and your passengers.
Technological assistance
Although the fraud predicament has deteriorated year on year, there is space for optimism, thanks to advances in personal computer and communications equipment.
For instance, the ‘black box’ technologies related with telematics records precisely how, where and when a auto is driven, supplying irrefutable objective evidence to be employed in post-accident evaluation.
So if an individual crashes into you or slams on the anchors unexpectedly, forcing you to crash into them, you can prove whether or not you were stationary or moving, and at what speed and in which direction, as effectively as recording the G-forces involved in the influence.
Candid cameras
An growing number of individuals are also employing dashboard cameras to record their journeys – once more, the evidence they deliver can be invaluable in disproving a fraudster’s allegations.
Also, sensors are being fitted to luxury models that will quickly cascade down to every day models. They monitor what’s happening around the auto and can even apply automatic emergency braking if required.
On the right track
It will be a although just before we obliterate fraud, but we’re on the proper track.
It is critical to bear in mind that insurance fraud is not a victimless crime, we all end up paying for it on our premiums. Even if you are involved in a not-at-fault accident, you could see you premium improve at renewal – producing it even more important to shop about for the greatest deal.
Automobile insurance fraud adds £50 to your policy
