Direct Line: Car insurance fraud on the rise

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<div class="rxbodyfield" xmlns:o="urn:www.microsoft.com/office" xmlns:st1="urn:www.microsoft.com/smarttags" xmlns:st2="urn:www.microsoft.com/smarttags2" xmlns:w="urn:www.microsoft.com/word" xmlns:x="urn:www.microsoft.com/excel"><p>Car insurance providers are having to deal with increased numbers of fraudulent claims according to Direct Line, one of the UK&#39;s largest motor insurers.</p><p>False claims are falling into two main categories, according to Emma Holyer, a spokesperson for Direct Line, the opportunistic fraudsters and the premeditated conmen.</p><p>Opportunistic claimants are &quot;normally law-abiding motorists&quot; who, when they become involved in an accident- such as a rear end shunt - claim to have suffered injuries - such as whiplash - and claim from the other insured party.</p><p>Far more worrying however, are the premeditated fraudsters, who are often part of what has become known as &quot;fraud rings&quot;, which are designed to take out multiple policies on one car and then deliberately crashing it and claiming personal injury costs.</p><p>&quot;Fraud rings are a serious focus for the police currently and the crime is taken very seriously,&quot; said Ms Hoyler. </p><p>&quot;Fraud costs the insurance industry &#163;400 million each and this in turn is borne by motorists as part of the premium. On the opportunistic side doctors have become very switched on false personal injury claims and will report any suspect claimants to the police.&quot;</p><p>uSwitch.com has plenty of information on <a href="http://www.uswitch.com/Car-Insurance/Car-Insurance-In-The-UK.html">car insurance in the UK and can also help you find the right deal. Use our <a href="http://www.uswitch.com/Car- Insurance/Index.aspx">car insurance calculator to find yourself a great deal and apply online today.</p></div>