Motor Fraud

Motor fraud is well recognised by the insurance industry and now by the public as a serious problem.  Keoghs has unrivalled knowledge of this sector and has developed a comprehensive range of efficient processes to assist in fighting fraudulent motor claims.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) latest statistics, released earlier in 2008, demonstrate why motor fraud is still a widespread problem - despite the increasing focus and detection by insurers.  In 2007, 24,000 fraudulent motor claims were detected, worth £260 million, or £5 million a week.

Fraudsters adopt various methods, all of which involve them performing unexpected and unnecessary manoeuvres to cause innocent drivers to crash into them.  Several claims are then made to the victim’s insurer, often including not just damage to the fraudster’s vehicle, but also fictitious injuries sustained by driver and passengers.

These bogus claims can net fraudsters up to £30,000 at a time, and this cost is transferred to innocent policyholders through higher premiums. The IFB estimates the cost of motor fraud at £1.5 billion per year, adding five percent to premiums.

Low Speed Impact Claims

Low speed impact (LSI) claims have come to the fore in recent years and can be very complex to deal with due to conflicting expert opinions and difficulties with evidence.  LSI cases involve accidents where there is minimal impact between the vehicles involved and the likelihood of injury is very small due to the low speed of the vehicles either before or after the accident.

Keoghs was one of the first law firms to recognise this trend and to identify the threat that it posed to insurers.  To increase our understanding of this issue we researched both the law and the science; we visited Thatchams and TRL to obtain a first hand view of the physical ramifications of an accident at low speed.  We subsequently liaised with various forensic engineers in order to obtain a better understanding of the physics involved. Following this fact finding, we devised a process for identifying and investigating LSI claims. 

Over the last few years we have worked with a number of our major insurer clients to help them devise their own processes for dealing with such claims.  We have also undertaken a comprehensive programme of training for claims handlers to assist them in their day to day handling of LSI matters.

All our motor fraud lawyers are trained in how to identify, approach and deal with LSI claims.



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