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Car crash scams experience a surge

By Tom Farley, Thu 26 Aug 2010 - Published in Car Insurance

There has been a sharp rise in the number of car crashes which have been deemed to be scams, according to new figures.

Data issued by the Insurance Fraud Bureau estimates that around 30,000 accidents were staged last year, costing the industry a total of £350 million.

Birmingham was the UK's main fraud hot-spot, while incidents rose in parts of London, Liverpool, Blackburn, Manchester and Leeds.

Sgt Mark Beales, from Greater Manchester Police, said fraudsters carefully choose their victims before staging the accident and pointed out that motorists need to be vigilant.

"What these fraudsters tend to pick on are single mums or elderly people, people who are less likely to cause them any issues. They also target drivers of commercial vehicles, because drivers tend not to care as much," he noted.

Recently, figures compiled by moneysupermarket.com suggest that many people simply accept the renewal quote offered by their car insurance provider without first comparing the cost of cover online to see if they could make a saving.