"I have crashed your hire car into a van- 7 people have whiplash and want to claim on your insurance......"
This was a routine call received by AX (formerly Accident Exchange), a leading credit hire company who provide replacement vehicles to motorists involved in non-fault road traffic collisions.
The client had been provided with a Mercedes M Class car following a non-fault collision with another motorist.
The original RTC was correctly managed and settled by the insurer, however, whilst in hire, AX received notification that he had crashed the hire car into a van.
The client was uninjured but stated four of his friends, who were passengers in the car, and three others in the third party van, had suffered 'whiplash injuries'.
The damage to the Mercedes was inconsistent with the circumstances reported, and looked more like it had been in a collision with an agricultural vehicle, or a huge tin opener.
The car was fitted with state of the art telematics, which showed a totally different set of events, with no impact having been recorded at the location specified.
AX have considerable experience of insurance fraud investigations, including a ground-breaking private prosecution into a fraudster who claimed his ' fake Ferrari' had been written off by a total stranger in a hire car. The 'total stranger' turned out to be a good friend who had hired the car days earlier.
The investigation company have also presented expert evidence in several criminal court cases to demonstrate how telematics evidence can be used to prove beyond reasonable doubt how RTCs have occurred, in addition to other cases ranging from murder to organised 'Crash for Cash' scams.
AX worked hand in hand with a leading insurer and proved the RTC with the Mercedes had not happened as reported, and that there was potential to pursue a case of fundamental dishonesty against the claimants.
With the weight of evidence firmly against the claimants, the insurer stood firm and one by one their claims were withdrawn.
The final claimant has now dropped his claim, asking quite politely that no case of 'fundamental dishonesty' was pursued, which is a strange request from a supposedly innocent motorist.
The overall financial saving from this claim is in excess of £50k, and AX will have this claim removed from their claims experience, saving money on their fleet renewal fees.
The wider message is that if you do try to make a fraudulent motor insurance claim, either on your own policy or indeed on a corporate fleet policy, thinking it may be paid without the affected parties investigating, THINK AGAIN.
Find out more about how AX can help to uncover fraudulent insurance claims, as well as aid in stolen vehicle recovery.
Book a demo of AX Protect
Find out what our innovative car theft prevention solutions can do for your business. Book a demo of AX Protect with one of our experts today.
Previous
