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Lancashire Named As UKs Top Hotspot For Car Accident Insurance Scams
Thu, 29 Apr 2010

New research has revealed that the UK’s top four hotspots for car crash insurance scams are in Lancashire.

According to insurance company Direct Line, the area around the Trafford Shopping Centre, near Manchester, is the country’s top location for the so-called crash-for-cash scams, which con insurers and motorists out of millions of pounds every year.

Direct Line combined data from Bolton-based law firm Keoghs with their own records to find where drivers were most likely to become victims of such scams.

It found that three separate junctions on the M65 motorway in East Lancashire are the second, third and fourth most notorious hotspots for staged car crashes in Britain, with as many as one in 25 smashes at these sites likely to be staged by fraudsters.

The mock crashes usually involve criminals braking suddenly, causing innocent drivers to hit the back of their cars . The fraudsters then make compensation claims for fake injuries and vehicle damage, with such claims believed to cost insurance companies £350 million a year.

Kate Lotts, Direct Line’s director of specialist claims, said: "Crash for cash scams pose a significant risk to public safety. As well as adding to the cost of insurance, they delay payouts on genuine claims as any reported accident at a known scam site has to undergo additional investigations."

"Just the actions of a few, can cost motorists a significant amount of money and pose a real threat to people’s lives."

Ellen Booth, campaigns officer for road safety charity Brake, commented: "It is simply horrifying that anyone is willing to purposely cause a crash to claim insurance fraudulently."

"This is an incredibly serious issue and anyone found intentionally putting themselves and other innocent drivers at risk by causing crashes should face serious consequences under the law."

Other towns and cities in the Direct Line top 10 crash-for-cash hotspots included Stockport, Preston and Hemel Hempstead.
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