IFED cautions several insurance fraudsters

Several fraudsters have been targeted by the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED) over the summer for making fraudulent claims on their car insurance.

The police action followed referrals from Mulsanne Insurance and targeted a total of eight people from across England, including Bedfordshire, Birmingham, London and Manchester.

IFED discovered each one of them had bought short-term cover policies soon after a car accident, in some cases minutes later, and went on to make a false claim.

One woman said she’d had an accident because she swerved to avoid a fox in the road.

All of the fraudsters admitted to fraud by false representation during their interview with IFED officers and received cautions.

In total, the attempted claims made by the fraudsters against the insurance industry totalled £48,968.

One remaining person is currently out of the country, but has admitted to the offence and will be cautioned upon their return to the UK.

Detective chief inspector Andy Fyfe, head of the City of London Police’s IFED, said: “IFED continues to work effectively with industry partners to tackle insurance fraud and these nationwide enforcement operations are just one of the ways in which we bring fraudsters to justice.”

“Insurance fraud is a serious offence and shouldn’t be taken lightly. We’re confident that this operation, in collaboration with Mulsanne Insurance, will send a stark warning to anyone thinking of making a false claim.

“If you’re caught and given a caution, as these fraudsters were, you will face repercussions. Cautions can be used in court as evidence of bad character for other crimes and they may also impact future jobs prospects as they can show up on standard and enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service checks.”

Paul Twilley, claims director at Mulsanne Insurance Company, said: “Mulsanne Insurance offers a specialised short-term product giving customers the ability to insure a vehicle for shorter periods; giving them freedom from the costly alternative of annual insurance.”

“We have unfortunately seen examples of people driving with no insurance who are then involved in accidents leading to them purchasing a short-term policy and attempting to ‘back date’ the time of the accident to fit the period of cover.”

“We have worked closely with detectives from IFED in order to ensure that a number of fraudsters involved in such claims are brought to justice.”

“This enforcement action is one of a number of stark consequences for anybody who attempts to pursue such a fraudulent claim; you will also find that your insurance will become invalid, your claim will be repudiated and you will be added to the Insurance Fraud Register by Mulsanne.”

Mark Dugdale