FRAUD PREVENTION
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behaviours , but criminals intent on gaming the system will always find a way to remain one step ahead . In the UK , for example , the government introduced reforms two years ago to stem the tide of motor vehicle whiplash claims . At the time , claiming for whiplash in a cash-for-crash scenario was a favourite of insurance fraudsters – and one of the most difficult claims to disprove . The measures introduced by the government included redefining whiplash , setting limits on compensation for whiplash injuries , and banning insurers outright from offering to settle whiplash claims without medical evidence . On the face of it , the reforms should have stamped out a chunk of insurance fraud – but in reality , the result is a mixed one .
“ Unfortunately , in a recession , there is always an increase in fraud ”
NIGEL CANNINGS CTO , INTELLIGENT VOICE
Nigel Cannings says that cash-for-crash scams have just moved north of the border , to Scotland , where the reforms do not apply . “ One insurer there has reported a 60 % increase in personal injury claims related to cashfor-crash between 2021 and 2022 ,” he says .
And Clare Lunn from Markerstudy says some claimants are “ finding ways to commoditise road traffic accidents , despite the whiplash reforms ”. Still prevalent , she says , are phantom passenger claims , where people not in the vehicle were still claiming injury ; professional enabler-led fraud , where additional treatment is being recommended to increase costs ; and a shift away from exaggerating neck injuries to exaggerating injuries on other parts of the body , like the knees or the elbows . The fact that all of
78 May 2023