Fraudsters secure £187k of car insurance for £30

Two friends who manipulated insurers’ websites to secure £187,000 worth of car insurance for just £30 have been sentenced today.

James Edwards and Daniel Wilson obtained policies for 13 cars in eight months (June 2011 to February 2012), including one for a high-performance car that should have cost £68,000.

The pair signed up online for seven policies from Insurethebox and six from a second insurer, but managed to manipulate the systems so they only had to hand over a tiny fee.

Wilson was stopped in a car by Merseyside Police in September 2011 and produced an Insurethebox insurance certificate that the insurer had voided days earlier and reported to the force.

Merseyside Police subsequently began an investigation that included a further six fraudulent Insurethebox policies. The seven policies were worth more than £157,000, but the insurer had received just £15.50. Each policy referred to James Edwards or his personal details.

In January 2012, the second insurer referred six policies to the City of London Police Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED). The policies were worth more than £30,000, but the insurer had received only £15. Again, the policies featured James Edwards or his personal details.

Soon after, IFED detectives arrested Edwards at his house on Bowlands Drive in Bootle.

IFED then took on Merseyside Police’s investigation into Wilson. The 20-year-old was arrested in April 2012 and both men were charged with two counts of conspiracy to defraud.

Edwards later admitted to the charges, while the prosecution accepted Wilson’s plea to an offence of possession of a false document.

At Liverpool Crown Court today, the judge gave Edwards a 16-month prison sentence suspended for two years and a two-year supervision order. Wilson, of Moor Lane in Crosby, was ordered to undertake 50 hours of unpaid work. He was also given a 12-month supervision order and a 12-month community service order.

Detective sergeant Tom Finnegan, who led IFED’s investigation, said: “Edwards and Wilson manipulated the insurers’ websites to secure car insurance policies worth tens of thousands for only a few pounds.

“They obtained these policies in a bid to convince police and highways authorities that they were legally insured drivers so they could move around the country undetected.”

Insurethebox motor underwriting manager Andy Loftus said: “This case highlights the benefits of insurers – using a combination of sophisticated monitoring tools and skilled analysts – working with the police to quickly identify and stamp out fraudulent activity.

“We are sending a clear message to potential fraudsters that Insurethebox, other insurers and the authorities will not let them get away with this type of behaviour.”