GPs and insurers wise up to 40,000 fake car claims a year

    | Duncan Steer

    British insurers uncover a remarkable 40,000 fraudulent car insurance claims a year – and the problem appears to be getting worse, according to new research by LV= car insurance.

    Almost two thirds of GPs (60%) say they have seen an increase over the last two years in the number of patients they believe are feigning and exaggerating injuries in an attempt to make a fraudulent compensation claim.

    Nearly nine out of ten (87%) GPs say at some point they have seen someone who was completely making an injury up and almost all GPs interviewed (96%) said they have been visited by someone they thought was exaggerating an injury.

    One in four people who have been in a car accident in the last 12 months admit they attempted to exaggerate or feign injuries in order to claim compensation and a quarter (23%) of these admit making an injury up entirely.

    At the same time, more than half of all GPs (53%) have been directly targeted in the past 12 months by claims management firms on the hunt for patient details in exchange for a fee. One in five GPs say they are contacted at least once a week.

    According to the research, the rise in attempted fraudulent claims can be partly attributed to the increasingly pro-active tactics of personal injury lawyers and claims management companies.

    Half of all Brits (51%) say they have been contacted speculatively in the past year by one of these companies stating they may be able to make a claim, regardless of whether they had been in an accident or not.

    For those who have been injured in a car accident in the past 12 months, the figure rises to 60%.

    The difference between the figure for the general population and that for accident victims suggests claims companies may be receiving information from third parties with privileged information. LV= is one of a number of insurers that do not sell on customer details in the event of an accident.

    In the past three years, LV= car insurance has seen an increase in the number of whiplash claims where the circumstances were deemed to be suspicious and estimates that 15% of whiplash claims received in 2011 were potentially fraudulent.

    The 40,000 fraudulent car insurance claims a year uncovered by the industry are said to be worth a combined £466 million.

    This surge in attempted fraudulent personal injury claims means GPs are scrutinising cases more closely than ever. Three quarters (74%) of GPs say when faced with patients they suspect are exaggerating injuries they will phrase their reports carefully, so that the recipient understands their concerns, 70% will write exactly what they see and 38% would ask for further evidence or tell patients they need a second opinion.

    John O’Roarke, managing director of LV= car insurance, said: “Attempted fraudulent personal injury claims waste time and money. GPs have increasingly large workloads and should not have to deal with fraudsters attempting to make a fast buck at the expense of law abiding motorists. Attempting to make a compensation claim when you do not have an injury is against the law and could lead to a hefty fine or prison sentence.”