When financial times get tight, some less scrupulous Brits may resort to the tried and true insurance scam to raise an extra bit of cash. Some scams have been around for years, but new scams are also cropping up, making it difficult for insurance companies to weed out the fact from the fiction when it comes to debt consolidation loans.

General insurance fraud costs the industry as much as £1.9 billion annually, according to the Insurance Fraud Bureau. Higher costs for companies mean higher rates for consumers, which already exceed £1,000 per year for some motorists. Check out these top insurance scams to see what the insurance industry is grappling with today.

Crash for Cash

While purposely staging a vehicle crash with the intent of collecting a hefty insurance check is not a new insurance scam, it is definitely a growing one. According to Keoghs 2010 Motor Fraud Index, the numbers of suspicious motor claims are steadily increasing, particularly in some of the more populated areas of England and Wales.

Cover Notes

It is no secret that young male drivers often have the hardest time getting insurance coverage. However, many of them have found a way around their insurance dilemma by obtaining stolen cover notes on the black market. These cover notes are used to keep young drivers out of trouble, but they don’t offer any real protection to these youngsters or the other motorists on the road.

Whiplash

This “oldie but goodie” in insurance fraud still rakes in about £7,000 on the average claim. To boost the value of the scam, drivers claim that more than one passenger in the car also suffered from whiplash. However, the cause of the crash is usually a friend of the driver, and the only pain in the neck occurs with the insurance company who processes the false claim.

Stolen Car

For a really lucrative scam, many resort to the fake report on a stolen vehicle. The car may actually be put into hiding or destroyed by a friendly scrap dealer. One claim was made by a driver who said the car was stolen when he actually sold it to a friend before filing the claim. It was a potential double payoff for the vehicle owner, and a double whammy for the insurance company – at least until the car showed up safe and sound.

Cancelled Insurance

Some drivers in Britain purchase their insurance and receive documentation to prove their insurance coverage. However, they cancel their policy a short time later, receiving a refund for the unused term. Unfortunately, the discovery of a cancelled policy may be too late for another motorist in the event of an accident.

Stolen Credit Cards

Another scam is to purchase car insurance using a stolen credit card as payment. The policy is cancelled soon after and a refund issued – often before the insurance company realizes the scam. As much as £6 million in insurance fraud may be due to these scams.

Insurance fraud is expensive, both to the insurance industries and the drivers they are there to protect. The good news is that awareness of potential scams has increased steps to catch the con artists, helping the insurance companies keep their costs as low as possible.

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