Ageas, one of the UK’s largest motor insurers, has identified a worrying new trend of so called “crash for cash” scams involving vans and mopeds; migrating into urban areas outside London. This new type of fraud sees moped-riders deliberately manoeuvring their vehicles into the path of reversing vans in order to induce an impact and then claim for damage and injuries.
These induced accidents were first reported last summer in London where mopeds were being deliberately driven into vehicles pulling from side roads, but Ageas is now seeing a rise in this scam in urban areas across the UK with a modified target, reversing vans.
Katie Davies, Director of Underwriting Services and Fraud at Ageas said: “Our fraud intelligence team has seen a significant rise in this crash for cash scam both in London but also spreading to other large urban centres. We would like to warn drivers to be aware of the tell-tale signs of faked accidents as this can help them avoid falling victim to this continuing scam. We urge everyone to stay vigilant on the roads and report any suspicious activity to the authorities”.
What your customers should do if they are involved in an accident
- Capture details: If your customer is involved in an accident, encourage them to capture as many details as possible. This can include the other party’s registration number, make and model of the vehicle, their driving license and any distinguishing features of the driver/rider.
- CCTV and Witnesses: Encourage customers to take a good look at their surroundings to see if there are any doorbell cameras or CCTV that have captured the crash. If other drivers or pedestrians stop to offer them assistance, get them to ask if they saw the accident and are willing to act as a witness.
- Take images of the vehicles: Get customers to capture images of the vehicles, their positions as well as any damage caused.
- Report the incident: Ensure your customers report the incident to their insurer as soon as possible. Get them to provide all the details they have captured.
- Contact the authorities: If a customer suspects they have been a victim of a “crash for cash” scam, encourage them to report it to the police and the Insurance Fraud Bureau’s Cheatline.