Detectives and insurers have hailed the outcome of a court case after two men were jailed after they admitted conspiring to defraud two insurance companies. A bus inspector and a Mercedes driver were sentenced at Manchester Crown Court in October 2014, for arranging a crash between the two vehicles on a Manchester B road and trying to claim £500,000 from insurers.
Dominic Clayden, Claims Director at QBE, said after the case: “This is a great result after a complex investigation with officers at IFED. The targeting of public service vehicles to obtain money through personal injury compensation claims is becoming more and more apparent. QBE is committed to identifying and pursuing fraudulent claims that are made against our clients. We believe this case and the sentences handed down will send a stark message that there are severe penalties for those who attempt to fraudulently make claims at the expense of our policyholders and the insurance sector in general.”
And Lorraine Carolan, Head of the Claims Validation Team at DAC Beachcroft, said: “This was a highly organised, complex fraud which has required close collaboration between DAC Beachcroft, QBE, Finglands and IFED for over three years to secure convictions in this case. I am delighted that our lawyers and Intelligence Team have been able to work in partnership with QBE, utilising our unique intelligence services skill set to successfully tackle this fraud.”
QBE referred suspicions about 29 claims it received following the collision to the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED) in January 2012. The insurer’s solicitors, DAC Beachcroft, gave IFED CCTV footage taken from the route 42 bus the night of the crash in February 2011. The bus is seen travelling along Wilmslow Road when the Mercedes performs an emergency stop causing the double-decker to slam into the back of it. To see video footage, visit the City of London Police website.
IFED detectives arrested nine people, and conducted voluntary interviews with four others, who had been travelling on the bus and in the Mercedes at the time of the crash or were suspected to be involved in the scam.
Members of the public are urged to report so-called suspected ‘crash for cash’ incidents to the Insurance Fraud Bureau, which co-ordinates the insurance industry response to the identification of criminal fraud networks and works with the police and law enforcement. The Bureau has a free and confidential Cheatline on 0800 422 0421.
