Personal Injury: Insurance Fraudsters face no risk

Many people avoid making an insurance claim as they believe it isn’t worth the hassle due to the lengthy process of a claim and awaiting contact from insurance companies which not only can be a lengthy procedure but also a complicated and frustrating process.

However, the end financial sum can make all the waiting and stress worthwhile (if an insurance company agrees to pay out).

A recent article from The Times highlighted insurance fraud issues.

The head of Personal Injuries Commission has recently said that fraudsters who make exaggerated insurance claims will face “virtually zero” risk of being identified or prosecuted.

The former president of the High Court, Mr Justice Kearns, said: some people felt they could get a “free run” at the courts without facing repercussions as the commission published findings that showed awards in Irish courts were many times higher than those in the UK.

The article also stated that personal injury compensation payments for whiplash injuries were typically 4.4. times higher in England and Wales. The average soft tissue award on claims of up to €100,000 in Ireland was €19,862 compared with €3,798 in the UK. Mr Kearns recommended that judicial guidelines be introduced urgently to bring consistency to court awards.

Robert Clarke Specialist Compensation Solicitor at Taylor Bracewell says:

“I am very sensitive to the issue of alleged injury fraud be it allegations of exaggeration or otherwise.”

“I am somewhat at least cautious about the approach adopted and the image painted by the comments made by the by the head of Personal Injuries Commission.  I consider that the Courts are taking a very robust approach to allegations of fraud/exaggeration of injuries and there have been cases where individuals have lost their liberty for making such claim”.

“As is accepted across the profession, measure to tackle and address fraud and exaggeration are welcomed but I am worried that such measure will only really deter honest claims and this has the effect of depriving some from the compensation they rightly deserve but also prevents negligent individuals/organisation from learning from their mistakes and/or taking steps to ensure that the same accident/injuries do not happen again”.

Fake insurance claims

Insurance Fraud is any act committed with the intent to obtain a fraudulent outcome of from an insurance process. This may occur when a person (claimant) attempts to obtain some benefit or advantage to which they are not entitled.  A false insurance claim could be when a person says they have lost more than they really have e.g. claiming that all possessions have been destroyed in a fire, or making more than one claim for the same thing. Alternatively, a person might deliberately destroy the asset they are claiming insurance for.

In any case when an insurance company challenges you over any claim you make, we recommend that you obtain legal advice to ensure that your position and entitlement is protected.

If you would like more information about Personal injury or would like to arrange an appointment to discuss matters further please contact Robert Clarke, Compensation Solicitor in the Disputes Resolution team, Telephone: 01302965402 or Email: robert@taylorbracewell.co.uk