AXA calls for police focus in fighting fraud

Insurance giant AXA is calling on the Government to treat fraud more seriously and to focus police resources to fighting this problem.

The insurer argues that at a national level the police do not have sufficient resources to deal with fraudulent cases and that many are being pushed down to a local level where they are all too often dealt with ineffectively. The announcement was made at fringe meetings held during the Labour and Conservative Party Conferences held by the insurer on 23 and 30 September, to promote discussion and raise awareness of the issue of insurance fraud.

Insurers are making big investments to address fraudulent activity, exposing and stopping frauds worth over £400m in 2005, an increase of 50% compared with the previous year. However, organised insurance fraud continues to thrive with AXA’s analysis of industry data suggesting that suspected induced motor accidents or “cash for crash” scams are continuing to increase and could number 40 per day over the next 18 months if left unchecked.

The fringe meetings, which were chaired by Keith Vaz MP, the new chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, and Henry Bellingham MP, shadow minister for Justice, looked at the growing threat of fraud and the efforts being made to combat it. There was particular focus on the government’s reaction to the recommendations of the Attorney General’s 2006 Fraud Review, and on the impact the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) has had a year on from its inception.

Richard Davies, fraud risk manager at AXA and one of the speakers at the event, said: "In the last twelve months there have been some significant developments in the fight against fraud, but we don’t think they’ve gone far enough. The purpose of these events is to stimulate further debate and draw attention to what still needs to be done.

"At the moment the police do not have the resources to deal with fraud at a national level. Cases of fraud are therefore pushed down to local resources, where for logistical reasons investigations are often not pursued. We think that the most serious fraudulent activity needs to be dealt with more severely and that prosecution of fraudsters needs to become more commonplace. The fact our events were so well attended is testament to how important an issue fraud has become for insurers and their customers."