Telematics helps APU halt false £54k personal injury claim

Another false personal injury claim has been terminated following the use of telematics in an investigation by Asset Protection Unit (APU).

The motor fraud investigators stopped the claim by three claimants, which was made after an accident involving a flatbed lorry and a vehicle fitted with an In-Car Cleverness (ICC) telematics device, and was purported to be worth £54,000.

The ICC telematics device enabled APU investigators, called in by AVIVA to assess the low speed collision and determine that the claimed injuries were completely implausible given the difference in size and weight of the vehicles. As a result, the claim was thrown out by Macclesfield County Court.

APU said that the case has further underlined the role telematics can play in reducing fraud.

Neil Thomas, director of investigative services at APU, said: “Motorists must be careful of opportunists who apparently escalate the severity of an incident in an attempt to profit from the situation.”

“Fraudulent personal injury claims add millions to the cost of the nation’s insurance premiums. Many fraudsters prey upon vulnerable motorists in premeditated attempts to fleece them and their insurance firm out of thousands of pounds but others are simply opportunistic,” he added.

Mark Dugdale