‘Crash for Cash’ schemes are a form of fraudulent activity involving staging or deliberately causing a road traffic collision solely for the purpose of financial gain. Fraudsters typically use one of three methods to achieve this:
- Staged Accident: two vehicles, both operated by the criminals, that are deliberately crashed into each other or, in some cases, deliberately damaged by other means.
- The Induced Accident: two vehicles, but one operated by an innocent member of the public. The fraudster will initiate a collision through dangerous driving whereby their car is struck from behind, thus placing the member of the public at fault for the incident.
- The Ghost Accident: paper-based fraud; submitting fictional claims for accidents that never took place.
The Insurance Fraud Bureau estimates that ‘Crash for Cash’ collisions cost the UK around £340 million per year[1], with fraudulent car collision claims increasing by almost 50% year-on-year according to Cifas[2]. Beyond the financial costs are the innocent lives put at risk.
The TRL Investigations Team have dealt with multiple fraudulent insurance cases. We thoroughly investigate all areas of the claim, examining vehicles, in-car telematics, photographs and dashcam footage as well as examining the carriageway and topography to determine the cause of a collision and assess its consistency with the claim in question.
We utilise evidence-based approaches to investigate all types of collision, providing an unbiased report as to whether a claim may be fraudulent. This independent angle is critical should a case go to court, with our findings useful to both lawyers and insurers needing to determine the truth.
If you require our unbiased, evidence-based approach to a potential ‘Crash for Cash’ claim, get in contact with us here.
[1] https://insurancefraudbureau.org/insurance-fraud/crash-for-cash
[2] https://www.cifas.org.uk/newsroom/household-motor-insurance