Background

The claimant, Mr K stated that his Suzuki Liana, which was carrying four passengers, crashed with a Ford Focus driven by a third party. Mr K’s siblings alleged to have been amongst three passengers reported in the third-party vehicle. The high occupancy of each vehicle raised the suspicions of the insurer, who referred the case for investigation to the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED).

Mr K took out his insurance policy around two months before the alleged collision occurred. In July 2016, Mr K contacted the insurer to report that he had collided with another vehicle whilst pulling out of a T-junction the day before. Investigations revealed that the identity of the third party had been stolen to facilitate the fraud.

How we helped

Our forensic engineering team examined the vehicle and found that the accident could not have taken place as reported to the insurer. The inspection found that the damage to the car was not consistent with the circumstances described, and that the seatbelts had not obtained the friction marks expected from this type of collision.

Results

On Monday 2 August 2021 at Manchester Crown Court, Mr K and 2 others involved were charged and jailed for Fraud by False Representation. The investigation & evidence presented in court saved the insurer £27,268.

The insurer commented:

“We’d like to thank IFED for its support and hard work investigating this case. We’re understandably satisfied with this ruling and the message it sends to anyone considering making a fraudulent claim. Insurance fraud is not a victimless crime, it affects all motorists through higher premiums and we hope the outcome of this case sends a warning that we will investigate suspicious claims and fight against dishonesty and anyone failing to tell the truth.”

For more information on motor claims and how our forensic engineers can help your business, please contact Stacey Goodchild, Director of Claims Solutions – UK & Ireland on Stacey.Goodchild@davies-group.com or Matthew Stansfield, Operations Director of Claims Solutions – UK & Ireland on Matthew.Stansfield@davies-group.com