Three people have had a fraudulent claim of (USD $)54,000 in damages and personal injury rejected when the minor car accident was investigated. A telematics device, a blackbox for cars, proved their claim implausible. The incident involved an Astra running into the back of a flatbed lorry in slow moving traffic and hitting its tow bar. It caused no damage whatsoever to the lorry. The Astra took a small amount of damage from the collision.
Aviva, then received a claim for the three men for personal injury and damages amounting to (USD $)54,000. However, the Astra was fitted with a telematics device that feeds certain information to the insurers. This includes how, when and where a car is driven – including details such as a driver’s speed or braking habits. The data went to the insurers from the blackbox, and showed that the claimed injuries were completely implausible.
The dispute has now been dismissed after being heard at Macclesfield County Court. The three claimants faced no charges as a result of the attempted insurance fraud. The Asset Protection Unit are motor fraud specialists who investigate accidents on behalf of solicitors, insurance companies and credit hire organisations. They analysed the data, as leaving it up to police or insurance companies alone is impossible, due to their lack of resources required to prosecute the fraudsters.
This story comes at a time when insurers are increasingly attempting to coerce drivers into having telematics boxes, along with dashboard cams put in their cars. The hope is of cutting down on the amount of insurance fraud, even offering reduced premiums to drivers who choose to have them installed. The RAC is also planning on launching its own camera system in June. They plan on offering telematics boxes that connect to a mobile app in an attempt to record the behaviour of its two million different members. This isn’t surprising as motor insurance fraud is currently on the increase. Estimates suggest that 380 fraudulent claims are made to insurance companies daily – and false whiplash claims alone cost the industry at least (USD $)1bn each year according to the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.
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