Birmingham tops 'crash for cash' postcodes hotspots

Birmingham has topped the UK's "crash for cash" postcode league for the second time in a year.

'crash for cash' scams are run by fraudsters who manufacture collisions with other road users with a  view to profit from insurance claims.

The league table is compiled by the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB), Birmingham had 10 of the top 30 postcodes for the crime.

Top crash for cash locations in 2017

1. Birmingham
2. Bradford
3. Manchester
4. London
5. Oldham
6. Liverpool
7. Bolton
8. Sheffield
9. Wakefield

Out of Birmingham's 10 postcodes on the list. Washwood Heath, Aston and Small Heath were the three worst postcodes for the crime in the UK.

In Bradford, Frizinghall and Manningham came joint fourth for the numbers of fraudulent claims, while in Manchester the M8 postcode, which includes Cheetham Hill, was ranked sixth.

The data applies to the past 12 months. In total, there were 55,573 personal injury claims linked to scams in the UK, the IFB said, costing the insurance industry a total of £340m a year.

For more information on this story see this BBC.

Crash for cash attempt - Birmingham UK

Wow this really couldn't be more of a blatant attempt as "crash for cash" insurance fraud! Luckily the targeted car managed to stop in time JUST!

The incident occoured on the M6 just after junction 5, video uploaded to youtube 20th September 2014

Two in Five 'Considering a Dash Cam'

Road Vision

According to new research from the RAC, TWO IN five UK drivers are thinking about installing a dashboard camera.

26% of motorists (thats over a quarter!) think the UK should take the lead in combating 'crash-for-cash' scams, where people deliberately cause crashes in such a way as to make it appear that the other driver was at fault, before claiming large sums of compensation.

The RAC's research shows that 71% of the more than 1,600 drivers it polled believe that introducing in-car cameras would help to cut fraudulent car insurance claims. 39% said they were thinking about installing a dash-cam, just 4% of drivers actually have one at the moment.

Of that 4%, almost three in five (59%) said the main reason they installed it was to record what happened in the event of an accident, with 21% specifically wanting to protect themselves against crash-for-cash scams.

The RAC quotes statistics from the Association of British Insurers describing a 34% increase in bogus car insurance claims in 2013.

The company's head of external affairs, Pete Williams, said: “Accident cameras or in-car cameras are commonplace in some countries where unscrupulous driving practices are a more regular occurrence.
“With ‘crash-for-cash’ crimes unfortunately becoming more prevalent on UK roads, motorists are looking to in-car cameras to protect themselves from being taken advantage of.”
Elsewhere in the study, 72% of respondents said they would consider installing a dash-cam if it brought them lower insurance premiums, and 70% said they thought an increased number of dash-cam installations would reduce fraud.

Another Would Be Crash For Cash Scammer

Cant actually believe the nerve of this guy! and the poor baby in the car, im glad that they had a dash cam as proof

Dash Cams Saved all These People From Scammers

Video Below

Im so glad that at the minute in this country that the type of scamming you are about to witness is not as prevalent as in Russia.  Just imagine being the driver in some of these, thank goodness they had dash cams fitted!

Get a Load of This Scammer

Get  load of this would be scammer, he just doesn't know when to give up!

Whiplash Scam Smash Caught on Camera

A Truck in-cab camera has captured the moment that a Ford Galaxy swerved extremely violently across a motorway and smashed into a lorry. Amazingly, the occupants of the Galaxy blamed the lorry driver for the crash, even though they had driven right into his path across three lanes of the M25, they made four whiplash claims, leaving the haulier with a potential claim of up to £75,000.

However, thanks to the clear video footage, seen below, the potential insurance nightmare was avoided with the dispute dismissed within days as the Ford Galaxy can be seen clearly driving at speed past the lorry which is travelling in the slow lane of the motorway at 55mph – well within the 70mph speed limit. The driver reacts very slowly when other vehicles brake ahead of it, swerving violently across all three lanes and into an unavoidable collision.

Around 550,000 whiplash claims are made every year in the UK, but insurance experts estimate that up to 60% of these claims are bogus. These figures make the ‘cash for crash’ scam a £1billion-a-year fraud, with the UK now the ‘whiplash capital of the world’. What this means for the average car driver is that there is an additional £90 added to their insurance policy. Interestingly according to the AA, there have been 60% more personal injury claims since 2006, despite the fact that there has been a 20% drop in accidents over the same period.

The problem is that drivers can often feel like they are on shaky ground when they go into the back of another vehicle, particularly if there are no reliable witnesses to explain what happened. The blame is nearly always attached to the driver who hits the vehicle from the rear. Luckily for this driver the dash cam acted as the "reliable witness" and showed that the lorry driver was blameless

Protect yourself from this sort of fraud Buy a Dash Cam Now 

Source: Dashcamowners

We are here to Help YOU!

We are a company based in Surrey who sell dash cameras.  Maybe you already have one, maybe you don't.  We want to connect with everyone and help eliminate "Crash for Cash" from all of our lives.

This very modern day scam affects us all. whether you realise it or not it is pushing YOUR car insurance premiums up.

We found this news clip for you on youtube which explains it very well http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tqe5SoX4dc

These crooks are very clever and will purposely prey on innocent victims such as yourselves.

If you don't have a dash cam already and would like to have a look at the options available to you why not visit our site www.road-vision.co.uk or have a talk too one of our fully trained staff on 01483 522 225 about what might suit your needs.