Demonstrating the new tougher Court Action for Fraudsters, six week sentences have been handed down to two fraudsters who invented a car accident to claim over £5,000 in whiplash compensation. Insurers had set aside a further £75,000 for other expected claims relating to the incident.
The court heard that Samina Bashir and her partner admitted making the bogus claim which also involved her parents, who received a suspended sentence for their part in the fraud.
Organised motor fraud was responsible for approximately 30,000 “crash-for-cash” related incidents in 2011 costing the industry millions of pounds. The insurance fraud bureau (IFB) has been established to clamp down on these criminal gangs. The IFB are currently co-ordinating 26 live cases valued in excess of £60,000,000.
Insurance fraud is rumoured to add an average of £44 to every UK policyholders annual bill so the emphasis placed on having the right insurance broker is even more important now than it ever has been.