The Crash For Cash Scandal: Calls For More Action

The recession has led to an increased number of accident claims - both legitimate and bogus.

The insurance provider, Norwich Union saw a 30 per cent increase in the number of fraudulent claims being filed last year compared to the year before.

Despite the police working together with insurers to crack down on crash for cash fraudsters, the number of people faking accidents to receive commensation is still rising.

A growing number of motorists have been risking their lives and the lives of others by inducing road accident, deliberately manoeuvring their vehicles in order to cause an 'accident' with innocent drivers.

Others have been staging accidents where a collision is set up by both drivers who damage the car intentionally by hammers and other tools and claim that the damage were caused as a result of the accident.

Fraudsters also fill the vehicle with 'victims' who act as though they have suffered from whiplash as a result of the accident, in order to receive more compensation for their personal injuries.

Claims fraud manager Scott Clayton, at Zurich Insurance said: "As well as multiple passengers, all of whom claim injuries such as whiplash, claims can be inflated by high bills for courtesy cars and repairs. A seemingly minor bump can inflate into a £50,000 bill."

Since July 2006, the Insurance Fraud Bureau and the police, have together caught over 300 crash for cash fraudsters from a number of areas.

Fraud manager, Mihir Pandya at Allianz Insurance stated that the Bureau "has improved collaboration with the police."

Calls for more forces

However, the Insurance Fraud Bureau is now calling for more police forces to crack down on the criminals despite figures from the Bureau have revealing that the crime has fallen by 11 per cent over two years.

According to the firm, insurers and the police forces have been working in areas such as Luton, Harrow, north-west London and Walsall which have shown a decline in the number of crash for cash scams, yet the crime is rising in other areas such as Liverpool, Halifax and Ilford, and Barking.

Richard Davies, the deputy chairman and fraud manager at Axa Insurance, stated that they need police help to target the newer gangs.

He said: "We targeted some of the biggest gangs first, but new ones are emerging all the time and we can only combat them with the help of police."

As a result, insurers and the police force are urging drivers to be alert when involved in an accident.

Clayton stated: "Our fight relies on having good evidence and that is where drivers can help us. If you feel it is safe to do so then snap a couple of pictures of the incident on your mobile phone and as many details as you can of the other vehicle. Also assess how old the other driver was and what they looked like. Note down how many passengers were in the other car and what exactly was damaged."

If you have been involved in a road accident that wasn't your fault, speak to one of our injury lawyers and see how they can help you make a commensation claim.