Motor Insurance Fraud Case

According to the ABI, the value of claims from vehicle insurance fraud increased from just shy of £96 million in 2017 to just over £99 million in 2018. This motor insurance fraud case study is an example of car insurance fraud.

Mrs X was prosecuted for car insurance fraud, after having been involved in two staged accidents in which it was accepted she had received no money. The first had been cunningly set up. A cheap car had been bought in cash a week beforehand and she had been entered on the V5 as the registered owner of that car. An address was given. A fully comprehensive insurance policy was then taken out on her behalf by someone pretending to be her husband. He had only needed a name, date of birth, an address and the details of the vehicle to do it. The whole premium was to be paid within 14 days so no card details were required over the phone.

Motor Insurance Fraud

Within a few days, there was a crash involving two cars. They were both removed from the scene without any police attendance to verify what had happened – despite injury having been caused. Mrs X was named as having been the driver of car A. It had been staged in a way that suggested that Mrs X must have been at fault. Someone pretending to be her contacted the insurance company and admitted fault. All the passengers in car A had apparently suffered whiplash injuries. The driver and passengers in car B all apparently suffered whiplash injuries. A claim was made through the same CMC by everyone. Ultimately, Mrs X’s insurers paid out.

In the meantime, because she had a fully comprehensive insurance policy, a hire car was arranged for Mrs X. She apparently went to the hire car company and produced documents (her driving licence and a utility bill) and signed the declarations. All the other personal details had been “passported” through to the car hire company by the insurers using their internal systems.
A further staged accident took place (within the 14 days of the insurance policy inception) in which the hire car was written off. Another claim took place. In fact, the insurers did not, in the end, pay out as they suspected some dishonesty. They were right to be suspicious of car insurance fraud.

When Mrs X was traced years later, she claimed she knew nothing about the accidents, the cars, the claims etc. However, her name and date of birth were all over many of the relevant documents – including a “script” of what to say that had been found in the possession of one of the alleged passengers and subsequent claimant, naming her as the driver. So, was Mrs X guilty of vehicle insurance fraud?

Case Conclusion

Mrs X was prosecuted because the Court contended that she must have been the person who had gone into the hire car company and handed over her driving licence and utility bill, thus involved with the motor insurance fraud. Many of the personal details on the car hire form would not have been apparent from those documents – such as mobile phone number and employer. However, the police had never appreciated that the personal details on the car hire form had all come from the insurance company – and that they had been set up by someone else in her name. Further, the police did not know that, at the time, it was possible to hand over a copy of a driving licence to the car hire company and so it did not require an original that only she ought to have had.

In any event, Mrs X was able to establish that she had used the same company before, and after cross-examining the representative of that company, it was accepted that if company had prior knowledge of a person, in circumstances whereby that person was being referred to them by an insurance company, the checks would not be so thorough.

Knowledge born out of experience helped Mrs X. That is what we can bring to your car insurance fraud case should you find yourself in the same position as Mrs X.

If you suspect you are being investigated for vehicle insurance fraud, contact us today.