Five arrested in car insurance scams

9:31am Thursday 3rd July 2008

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A POLICEMAN has vowed to track down the "criminal network" behind car insurance scams after five people were arrested in the borough today.

Three men and two women were detained as part of efforts to crack down on a practice which can include deliberate crashes involving unsuspecting motorists.

Superintendent Glyn Jones, who has been leading the operation, said: "There are a number criminal networks who set themselves up in the accident business.

"We are in the process of identifying members of these criminal networks with the intention of putting these people before the courts."

He said the majority of those arrested today are believed to have merely entered claims about accidents that never happened.

But he said many people are encouraged to do so by accident management companies who go as far as paying drivers to fake a crash or break sharply while in front of another car.

He said the drivers involved can be paid as little as £100 while those who orchestrate the crimes make far more by exagerating the damage caused and faking documentation, like medical records.

Superintendent Jones, added: "Just because we haven't arrested someone today it doesn't mean they won't be involved in future arrests.

"We are out there catching the people who do these sorts of things and anyone who does stands a real risk of being arrested and prosecuted with all the embarassment that comes with that."

In a typical example of a fraudulent claim, he said, two cars might pull out in front of a motorist, one in front of the other, with the lead car engineering the crash by breaking sharply.

The second car would then also break so the unsuspecting member of the public, driving behind, would bump into it.

The first car, percieved to have caused the accident, would then drive off leaving the second driver looking like an innocent victim.

Superintendent Jones said he was worried people who are generally law abiding might get drawn into other crimes after first becoming involved in insurance fraud.

He said: "In the past it's been seen as a low risk criminal activity. We are worried this could be a gateway to other things and we are obviously keen to close that gateway."

Today's operation was based on information from the public, given to police through the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB).

The IFB estimates insurance fraud costs the public £1.6bn a year, adding five per cent to premiums.

Superintendent Jones said today's arrests are the fruits of an operation which has been going on for some time and more will follow.