Fraudulent claims are costing every UK household an additional £50 through increased premiums, according to the Association of British Insurers.
The ABI reported that fake car crashes are the biggest cause pushing the level to a record £1.3bn in 2013, an increase of 18% on the previous year. A 34% rise in the number of dishonest motor claims pushed up the cost of car insurance premiums as 59,900 attempts were made to cheat the industry out of a shocking £811m.
With this in mind it is little wonder that insurance providers are more cautious in the process of claims and why drivers need to be better prepared to provide legitimate evidence to validate a claim when required to do so.
As winter approaches and more of us are driving in the dark, there is an increased chance of having a motor accident. Following on from C&C Insurance Brokers recent advice regarding non-payment of claims, road traffic accidents inevitably happen and C&C are reminding drivers that they need to be better equipped to ensure that there are fewer chances of settlement disputes in the future.
Richard Bower – Lowe, Claims Director of C&C, offers some sound advice in securing evidence to avoid claim issues:
“In the event of an accident, it is vital that the evidence is carefully written, recorded and photographed. Failure to capture evidence can ultimately lead to difficulties in pursuing recovery of costs incurred or defending claims being made against you.
“At the scene of an accident, you should obtain information that will be of considerable use later when formally reporting the occurrence to your insurers such as:
- Date, time and location
- Third party name, address and phone number(s)
- Third party vehicle make, model, colour and registration number
- Third party insurer and policy number
- Witness name, address, phone number(s) and e-mail address
- Police officers name, collar number, station, phone number and contact phone number
- Number of occupants in the third party vehicle, their gender and approximate age. It is amazing how the number of occupants can multiply after an accident!
- Photographs of the damage to all vehicles involved
- Photographs of the accident location showing relevant features such as road markings, signs and skid marks. Road layouts can change in the passage of time so take images straight away
- Nearby CCTV cameras”
Being Aware of Induced Accidents
Contrived accidents are well publicised as being almost commonplace in today’s society. Commercial vehicles are considered an easy target as they are certain to be insured. The most popular scenarios adopted by criminals are:
Approaching a junction, roundabout or intersection and suddenly stamping on the brakes leading to a rear-end collision
‘Swoop and squat’ – a ‘no stop’ vehicle swoops in front of the vehicle ahead of you causing that vehicle to brake hard and ‘squat’ in the road. You cannot avoid hitting the ‘squat’ car in the rear whilst the ‘swoop’ car drives away undamaged. The ‘squat’ car driver and its occupants may appear to be innocent but in fact they are part of the crime
Richard continues:
“The criminals, often with the help of bogus witnesses, then claim compensation for injuries, damage, car hire, etc. amounting to many thousands of pounds payment resulting in increases to your insurance premiums. Drivers need to know how to counter this threat. Prevention is the best defence and you must therefore:
- Never tailgate – allow plenty of space between them and the vehicle in front
- Look beyond the vehicle ahead. If there is any hint of erratic driving, slow down and be ready to brake hard
- Ensure a paper and pen is available in your vehicle to write down information
- Ensure each driver has a phone with camera to take pictures of vehicles and occupants
- Consider fitting forward facing ‘moving image’ cameras and announce their presence with stickers on the rear of your vehicle”