The news that fraud investigators have unearthed 170,000 car insurance claims linked to ‘crash for cash’ gangs will hit innocent drivers in the pocket says a leading insurance expert.
The Insurance Fraud Bureau announced today that they have discovered a huge number of allegedly fraudulent motor insurance claims, where criminals have deliberately caused a road collision to claim compensation. The IFB said that of the 2.7m claims across the UK from October 2019 to December 2020, 170,000 look suspiciously like ‘crash for cash’.
“These criminal gangs are often highly organised and put lives at risk,” said James Dalton, Director of General Insurance Policy at the Association of British Insurers.
“The amounts that they fraudulently claim can be huge, and can impact on the motor premiums paid by honest motorists.
“With more vehicles on the roads as we emerge from the pandemic restrictions, so the potential targets for these criminals increases.
“This is why it is so important for all motorists to be on their guard – if you suspect an incident is suspicious do not put yourself at risk, but report your suspicions to the IFB’s confidential Cheatline.”
Drivers in Birmingham are most at risk from crash for cash according to the IFB’s analysis, with a hotspot of postcodes suggesting that organised criminal gangs are behind the scams.
The BBC reports that a previous car insurance scam saw 150 people convicted as part of a £2m insurance fraud, similar to crash for cash and staged and bogus accidents.