London (Parliament News) – Motorists should be cautious of a 60-fold rise in “crash for cash” fraud involving motorbike and scooter riders staging accidents. Allianz reports a 6,000% increase in such claims in 2023.
Motorists have been cautioned to be sharp after a 60-fold growth in “crash for cash” fraud claims involving motorbike and scooter riders stage accidents so they can blame naive drivers.
How are motorbike fraudsters targeting drivers for insurance scams?
The insurer Allianz expressed that its data showed that claims relating to this fraud increased by 6,000% between January and December 2023 – a substantial jump from the 50% increase the year before. This type of insurance scam typically involves an “induced accident”, in which a rider tries to deliberately get struck by a vehicle in order to make a claim.
Criminals usually target drivers as they park their cars – for example, they will ride past just as the driver unlocks the car door so that it hits the motorbike or scooter, with the purpose being to make it appear the motorist’s fault.
Where are crash-for-cash fraud hotspots located in the UK?
Allianz said its data revealed that four in 10 of these “accidents” occurred during the afternoon and evening school run and rush hour – between 3 pm and 7 pm. Lunchtime also appeared to be a “prime time” for fraudsters, with 27% of crashes happening between 11 am and 2 pm. More than half of the happenings took place in Greater London. Croydon and Enfield were named as “hotspot” locations for this type of scam.
The consumer organisation Which? has previously stated that new variations of this type of fraud have also been occurring, including “wing mirror scams”, where a fraudster tosses an object at a passing car to make an effect sound, then pursues the driver arguing they have clipped their wing mirror and then either pressing cash or initiating a claim.
Matt Crabtree, head of financial crime intelligence and investigation strategy at Allianz’s personal lines business, stated: “It’s shocking that we’ve seen a 60-fold increase in the number of motorbike ‘crash for cash’ claims in 2023.”
Innocent targets were being physically and emotionally influenced by this crime, and it was also putting kids, passersby and others at significant risk, he added. Allianz, which contains the general insurance arm of LV=, said that as well as targeting large cities, methodical criminal gangs were focusing their concentration on small towns and the outskirts of cities, including places such as Thornton Heath, in the London borough of Croydon, and Hagley, a few miles outside Birmingham.
The Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB), the organisation that heads up the industry’s fight against insurance fraud, expressed it was urging the public “to be attentive to signs of this dangerous activity”. The recommendation from insurers includes being attentive to any unusual driving behaviour and taking special care at junctions and when pulling out from a parked place or side road.
Earlier this month Allianz stated there had been a surge in fraud cases recently in which photos were exploited using apps and software in order to offer fake car crash damage.