Inflated insurance claims are a relatively common occurrence but beware, Police and insurers are forging much closer working relationships using technology and databases to monitor this kind of activity and taking tough action on those identified.
As an example, it was recently reported that a gang who conned insurance companies out of thousands of pounds by staging car crashes have been sentenced to a total of 10 years imprisonment.
Thirteen defendants were today sentenced at St Albans Crown Court today following a two-year investigation by Hertfordshire’s Serious and Organised Crime Group into the ‘Crash for Cash’ car insurance scam - one of the first cases of its kind prosecuted in the UK.
The investigation, codenamed Operation Mysterious, revealed the gang was making dishonest claims to insurance companies for compensation totalling more than £250,000.
The gang were claiming against road traffic collisions that had never happened.
Prison sentences of up to two and a half years were dished out to the principal offenders, with those with less involvement receiving suspended sentences varying from sixteen weeks to 6 months.
Upon sentencing, the judge said
“these were serious offences which impacted on everyone as this type of criminality causes insurance premiums to be raised. He added that their activities required significant planning and were only detected due to the facilities available to the prosecuting agencies in this case”
Speaking after the hearing, a police spokesperson who worked on Operation Mysterious, said: “This outcome sends out a clear message to fraudsters that their activities will be uncovered by the police and specialist agencies.
With support from the Crown Prosecution Service, the constabulary has also been able to restrain more than £1 million in assets from those convicted with a view to securing confiscation under the Proceeds of Crime Act. This legislation enables us to hit criminals where it hurts – in their pockets.”
Fraud like this is not restricted to car insurance. Insurance companies are stopping fraudulent claims to the tune of over £1 million a day. What’s more, they think there is plenty more fraud being committed which hasn’t been detected it yet.
The best estimate for undetected fraud in the UK is around £1.6 billion a year.
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