What counts as car insurance fraud?
There are many different ways in which false claims are attempted but some of the more common types include:
- Inducing collisions by driving and braking erratically - in some cases disconnecting the car’s brake lights or even, deliberately crashing into other vehicles.
- Pursuing personal injury claims from these ‘staged accidents’ and also, fabricating ‘whiplash’ injuries from genuine minor impacts.
- Introducing ‘phantom’ vehicle occupants to make injury claims despite not being directly involved in the crash with fake witnesses to back up their statements.
- Getting rid of a car and then claiming it was ‘stolen’.
Furthermore, claims caused by those who drive without car insurance add to the costs of your car insurance premium. If you are involved in an accident with an uninsured driver, you could still lose your no-claims bonus or experience increased renewal costs.Between 2018 and 2022*over 10,000 claims relating to uninsured and untraced drivers were handled by Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) resulting in a rise of between €150 and €175 on all motorists’ insurance premiums.
How the fraud of others affects you
As shocking as these scenarios are, the most frustrating aspect is that the blameless, safe drivers out there are footing the bill for these criminal activities. The unfortunate reality is that the more claims and associated legal costs that are paid out, the more your premiums go up to compensate for it.
If the people involved in these claims are in your age bracket, this increases the likelihood of someone your age having an accident and may result in increased costs. Similarly, regional crime statistics influence insurers when working out the average premiums for your area.
Are there any solutions?
Here at AXA we understand that the vast majority of our customers are truthful and law abiding citizens and it’s in order to protect these customers, that the company takes a firm stance against people who commit Insurance Fraud. We are dedicated to fighting Insurance Fraud, we have a specialised team of investigators who are highly trained and qualified in investigative techniques. If you are aware of people committing Insurance Fraud let us know in confidence by contacting the Special Investigation Unit at siu@axa.ie.
We want to support honest drivers by offering them protected no-claims if they are involved in an incident with an uninsured driver. We also reward safe drivers with policy benefits like our no-claims discount at 75% - the highest in Ireland.
The simple advice is to remain vigilant when out on the roads, to help avoid these scheming fraudsters, slow the increase in these negative statistics, and stop costing you time, worry and money.
*Figures updated as of January 2024
