Daily briefing: Tuesday - 'Crash for cash' fraud extends its reach

The latest ‘crash for cash’ regional hot spot statistics shed more light on the fraud that is now more like a nationwide epidemic. The report released today by the Insurance Fraud Bureau places the big three of Birmingham, Sheffield and Manchester as the most likely to be targeted by ‘crash for cash’ fraudsters once again.

But while these three cities can’t be moved, there’s plenty more going on further down the table, which proves that the scandal is showing no signs of letting up just yet. While there were some areas that saw falls in insurance fraud, they were countered by some hefty risers.

Leicester (up 3 places) and south-east London (up 8 places) both rose into the top 10. And climbing their way into the top 20 were Brighton (up 9 places), Reading (up 5 places), Guildford (up 7 places) and Portsmouth (up 11 places). Leeds (down 6 places) was among the largest to report a fall in ‘crash for cash’, down to 16th position. (Click here to see the table in full) And Luton, which in 2008 was fourth on the list, no longer exists in the top 20 after police smashed a criminal gang in which 40 conmen were earlier this year found guilty of taking part in an insurance fraud worth £5.3m.

The heat is on

The IFB will hope that more investigations like this will help bring down the level of fraud in other areas. But can they stop it spreading? There are currently 29 active joint police operations spread across 17 police forces, set up to tackle insurance fraud worth a combined value of around £59.5m. Since July 2006, police have made over 486 arrests connected to insurance fraud, resulting in 119 convictions.

Meanwhile, the industry galvanized its efforts in tackling insurance fraud back in June when it dug deep to find £9m to fund a new anti-fraud police unit made up of 35 detectives and support staff. It is due to be launched next year and the industry will expect it to deliver, particularly in nailing ‘crash for cash’ fraudsters.

L&G backs the broker

Legal & General is set for a big push in the broker market after today naming Mark Holweger as its new broker and intermediary director. The insurer is preparing to launch into new areas in the personal lines space in the next year, with plans to expand from home insurance into pet, travel and motor.

Brokers already play a key role for L&G, with around 80% of L&G’s new GI business coming through that channel. Expect it to be out wooing brokers very soon.