Direct Line Insurance: Organised crime main threat to car insurance

Thu, 27 Jul 2006

The main threat faced by the car insurance industry is organised crime, according to Emma Holyer, a spokesperson for Direct Line Insurance.

Ms Holyer's comments follow the creation of the Insurance Fraud Bureau – a new organisation launched yesterday designed to combat insurance fraud in the UK.

The spokesperson states that organised crime is a threat faced by the whole of the insurance industry, but is a particular problem for car insurance providers .

"This is where you have got somebody taking out ten or 15 policies for one car and then claim on them all a month after taking them out," she explains.

"So you see people connected up and you see these fraud rings in certain parts of the country. They are the ones that the [insurance] industry needs to tackle to cut down the cost of fraud on us and on the consumers."

Commenting on the new insurance bureau, Stephen Sklaroff, deputy director general of the Association of British Insurers, said: "The launch of the Insurance Fraud Bureau shows the industry's determination to expose the organised criminal gangs who often use insurance payouts to fund other crimes, and put lives in danger."

The ABI also stated yesterday that insurance fraud costs the UK around £4 million per week.

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