The Association of British Insurers has revealed that 45,000 dishonest motor insurance
claims were unearthed in 2011. This equates to 865 exaggerated or bogus claims per-
week, which would have cost the industry an alarming £541 million. Notable examples
included the 30 men who hired a coach to take them greyhound racing, then all claimed
for whiplash after a staged crash. Furthermore, 37 people were jailed after arranging 180
incidents linked to 230 claims. These fraudsters - and every other convicted of the offence
- must now feature on the new Insurance Fraud Register. This should be an invaluable
weapon in the battle against a crime that increases the cost of insurance for every motorist.
The Association of British Insurers' Director General, Otto Thoresen, said: “The industry
makes no apologies for its zero tolerance approach to insurance fraud. Honest customers
are sick of footing the bill for insurance cheats through higher insurance premiums. From
the highly organised ‘crash for cash’ motor scams to the opportunistic exaggeration of a
genuine claim - insurers are determined to do what it takes to protect honest customers.”
But how much fraud was unearthed last year as a percentage? The 45,000 could have
represented the vast majority of false claims. But perhaps it only represented 15%. The
problem is knowing for sure. Some false claims would have stuck-out like a sore thumb
- but what about the slight exaggerations. Was a laptop in the boot of that stolen car,
or was it safe elsewhere? And was Mr X's wallet really in the glove box when someone
smashed his window? Hard to know. Of course, every claim could have been obsessively
investigated. But that would have alienated honest customers and cost a fortune. Plus, of
course, there is little merit in spending £500 to expose a £50 exaggeration. If only everyone
was honest, ey.
By Stephen Turvil
Thu, 27 Sep 2012
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