Wednesday, December 09, 2009
AA wants wider police effort to target 'cash for crash' scams
A new initiative by the Metropolitan Police to target 'cash for crash' insurance scams should be copied by other police forces, according to AA Insurance.
The Metropolitan Police has established a specialist unit to train officers to watch out for signs of suspicious collisions that could be staged accidents designed to defraud insurance companies for bogus personal injury claims.
Welcoming the initiatives Simon Douglas, director of AA Insurance, said: "Only recently a man from the north-west of England was jailed for causing more than 90 'crash for cash' collisions resulting in £1.9 million in fraudulent insurance claims. I'm certain that with better surveillance and co-ordination between insurers and police, that orgy of crime could have been stopped earlier.
"Similar specialist units in other police forces could better protect drivers throughout the UK from such activity. Initiatives such as that from the Metropolitan Police are to be applauded and I hope it is taken up by all police forces."
Staged accidents are usually at relatively low speed at complex junctions such as roundabouts or intersections and often the tail lights of the vehicle have been disabled, to increase the likelihood of a rear-end collision.
The fraudster subsequently makes claims for personal injury (usually whiplash) from his passengers who may not have been in the vehicle at all. The hapless victim, meanwhile, has to suffer the inconvenience of getting their car repaired and is likely to lose their excess and no-claim bonus."
According to Association of British Insurers' figures, detected fraudulent claims amounted to £730m last year with up to £1.9 billion slipping through the net, adding around £44 to the average cost of every insurance policy.
DATED: 09.12.09
FEED: AW
