Car Insurance
Beware car insurance fraudsters, drivers urged
Thu, 01 Jun 2006
Car insurance providers are urging UK drivers to watch out for a new type of fraudster loose on Britain's roads who deliberately cause crashes to claim on the victim's insurance.
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) said that it has uncovered a number of suspicious "accidents" in the Leeds and Bradford area over recent weeks.
Criminal gangs disconnect the brake lights on their cars before they "slam on the brakes at roundabouts".
However, when the unfortunate victim drives into the back of them they are assumed to be at fault and will usually volunteer their car insurance details. The gang will then try and claim from the victims insurer.
But it is not just the cost to the insurer that motorists should be concerned about, but the cost to them personally.
Insurance fraud of all types now costs the UK some £1.5 billion a year through raised premiums, according to the ABI, with a disproportionate impact on younger and older motorists who can generally least afford to pay.
The Daily Telegraph quoted Nick Starling, director of general insurance at the ABI, saying: "The extent of fraud is underestimated and yet its impact is very real and serious. It has become as big an earner for criminal gangs as drugs."
Mr Tarling added: "The initial impact of these acts is in the cost to the insurer and to the customer. But the second, and more important, impact is on personal safety. This is making the roads more dangerous places."
To boost the number of prosecutions of insurance fraudsters, from July the Insurance Fraud Bureau will be up and running, allowing insurers to share intelligence and information on suspicious claims.
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