According to figures published by the Association of British Insurers, the insurance industry detected 125,000 dishonest claims valued at £1.3 billion in 2016. With similar amounts of fraud going undetected each year, it is unsurprising that insurers invest around £200 million to combat it.
Personal Injury Surveillance is a unique guide, providing an insight into the hitherto undisclosed methodologies of personal injury surveillance and the systemic use of an unregulated profession to investigate accident victims. Surveillance is one of many tools used by the UK insurance industry to investigate the veracity of a personal injury claim; others include statistical analysis of claims data and complex algorithms with key fraud indicators, enabling insurers to get upstream of the issue and, in some cases, actually predict fraud before it occurs. However, there is nothing more compelling than surveillance evidence which is why it remains a fundamental element of the claims management process.
Significant investment in fraud awareness training coupled with new legislation and a more collaborative approach has provided the insurance industry with teeth, and it isn’t afraid to use them. This guide will provide honest claimants, their legal representatives and insurers with an enlightening, and in parts amusing, insight into the world of personal injury surveillance. It will also prove sobering for anyone contemplating the submission of a fraudulent personal injury claim with intent to defraud an insurer.