Allianz and IFED secure sentences for pair of fraudsters

Two men from London have been sentenced after grossly exaggerating a minor accident to claim for personal injury and vehicle damage following an investigation by Allianz and the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED).

The men claimed that another driver had crashed into the rear of their vehicle at around 30 to 40 miles per hour while they were stationary at a zebra crossing.

The insurer of the third party, Allianz, noticed significant discrepancies between the accounts of their policyholder and that of the claimants. After an engineer’s report supported their suspicions, the insurer referred the case to the City of London Police’s IFED for further investigation.

The duo were both sentenced on 6 June at Inner London Crown Court to four months in prison, suspended for 18 months, while each of the men were ordered to pay £1,372 in compensation, court costs and victim surcharge. 

Commenting on the sentences, James Burge, head of counter fraud at Allianz Commercial, commented: “Opportunistic fraudsters might think they can lie and exaggerate to gain financially. However, when we spot inconsistencies, it triggers an investigation that will catch them out. We hope that these sentences will deter would-be fraudsters.”

Image: Canva

Mark Dugdale