Scammers adding €50 to every insurance policy

July 18th, 4:32pm July 18th, 4:32pm

A leading insurance company has claimed that fraudulent claims add an average of €50 to every motor policy each year.

The warning came after a group of Roma fraudsters based in Galway exposed in court as being part of a nationwide ‘crash for cash’ scam.

The crash-staging scam involved members of the Roma and Traveller community in Galway and in London.

Last week, the President of the Circuit Court, threw out insurance claims made by two brothers from Galway and heard that up to 80 cases in total would be challenged after private detectives found evidence of “geographical and inter-associate and family connectivity”, which confirmed a widespread scam.

Allan Archer, Head of Claims at Aviva, said the decision by Mr Justice Raymond Groarke would be of direct benefit to customers.

“Aviva welcomes the decision to dismiss the personal injury actions brought by John Gerard and Martin Corcoran [two Travellers originally from Galway, but now living at a halting site in London].

“Aviva are committed to fighting all fraudulent claims and to working with the Gardaí to ensure that the full rigours of the law are brought to bear on those involved in such activities.

“The decision is good news for our customers who must ultimately pay for false claims. The successful outcome of this case vindicates our actions and is of direct benefit to our customers.

“The vast majority of motor insurance claims are genuine and are met by insurers without delay, but insurance fraud is a significant issue for the industry.

“Insurance Ireland estimates that the overall cost of insurance fraud to the industry is approximately €200m a year which adds on average €50 to each and every motor insurance policy.

“Apart from its direct impact on the cost of car insurance, staged accidents take up the time and resources of the Gardai and other emergency services diverting them from cases of genuine need. More importantly, staged accidents are a real threat to the safety of innocent road users,” said Mr Archer.

The Circuit Court heard last week that Roma drivers were being paid to crash their cars into other vehicles.

The judge heard that Neagu Alexandru was found to have driven his Honda Civic into the back of a Ford Galaxy people-carrier in which the Corcoran brothers and five of their cousins were travelling.

There was no damage whatsoever on the Galaxy which was consistent with the damage to the Honda, and he concluded Mr Neagu was up to his ‘usual criminal activity’.

He said it was an extraordinary state of affairs that so many involved in so many accidents should have similar descriptions, addresses, locations, and country of origin, and were residing, but not exclusively, in Galway.

Counsel for Aviva told the court that the company was challenging 79 outstanding claims – 60% of the claims were around Galway, and the company would be alleging they had been fraudulently staged or had never taken place.

Mr Justice Groarke said it was an inescapable conclusion that there was liaison between members of the Irish Traveller and Roma communities to set up staged accidents and claims to defraud insurance companies.

Aviva’s research confirmed direct connections between the Corcorans and other claimants who lived close to them in a halting site in London.