The top ten dumbest insurance fraud claims

Insurance fraud is an incredibly hot topic. On both sides of the claimant and defendant divide, there is widespread debate around a variety of associated issues, such as what the trends are, the latest techniques to catch out the fraudsters, and the fate suffered by those who are caught.

To those on the outside, fraud looks like a relatively simple problem to solve: catch someone lying; job done. Unfortunately, the reality is not so simple or straightforward. That said, there are times when, in an almost Darwinian process of natural selection, this job is made easier. It is with this in mind that I present the top ten of insurance fraud’s dumbest criminals:

10. Mr X admitted to being involved in an accident previously but stated it was property damage only, as his friend was driving his car.
He wasn’t in the car or injured. X was referred to his solicitor’s letter and signed form of authority dated two days after this accident, requesting his GP notes as
he had been injured in this accident;

9. Ms H was involved a very minor crash in a supermarket car park; despite the vehicle’s sustaining minimal damage, H’s car was filled to capacity and all her passengers sustained injury. She also submitted large claims for hire and repair. To lend credibility to her claim, she said she was a solicitor and a UK citizen, and held a full UK driving licence. H also produced an independent witness. Following investigations,
we were able to confirm H
was a student, in the UK on
a student’s visa, and did not have a valid UK driving licence. Her independent witness was also linked to one of her passengers and the directors of both the engineer and hire company used;

8. Mr P produced an independent witness statement supporting his claim. Both denied knowing each other previously. Disclosure of P’s bank records confirmed he had paid the independent witness shortly before the accident;

7. Ms O hired from a self-drive hire company and had a crash with another vehicle.
In an interview, O stated she had never seen the driver of the other vehicle, or indeed his vehicle, before.
O was the previous keeper
of the other vehicle;

6. Ms D alleged her vehicle had been damaged in a road traffic accident. An engineer was sent to inspect the vehicle at the storage facility. On arrival, it was noted that the vehicle was parked next to a JCB mechanical digger. The claws on the bucket of the JCB perfectly matched the damage sustained by the vehicle. There was no other damage;

5. Mr C alleged he had fallen over defective flooring, sustaining injury. CCTV footage confirmed that he had indeed fallen over the defect. The footage from 20 minutes earlier, however, also showed him practising his fall and feigning injury;

4. Personal injury claims were submitted for 20 individuals who alleged they were injured as a result of an accident between a bus and car. The bus, however, was out of service at the time and only had the driver on board;

3. Ms G used her business address to incept her
policy of insurance, but investigations confirmed
she shared the same residential address as the claimants – whom she had denied knowing;

2. Mr R alleged he had broken his ankle tripping on a manhole cover. He had actually broken his ankle jumping into flood water, and his antics were caught by a video uploaded onto YouTube; and finally

1. Mr S claimed for injury following an accident at work, where he alleged
that he was struck by a reversing warehouse vehicle. His claim was for injury, loss of earnings from being unable to work, and incapacity preventing his enjoyment of cricket and golf. The vehicle driver was not aware of any incident.
S had reported it to his supervisor – his own brother. Further investigations revealed S was denied requested leave to go to a music festival. Social media revealed S had a great time at the music festival and played excellent cricket and golf during the same period of incapacity.

Insurance claims fraud is a serious issue that affects us all in many ways. That said, sometimes you can only smile… before saying, ‘Claim denied.’ SJ

Nicola Smith is a solicitor at Kennedys

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