Chartis has issued instructions for a file to be handed to police relating to a £200 000 motor insurance fraud case.
The move follows a trial in December at Bradford County Court when the director of an accident management company and a co-conspirator were found guilty of fraud and found liable for more than £20 000 in legal costs.
In the case of Saleem v Usman and Chartis Insurance UK Mr Saleem and Mr Usman maintained that they were involved in an accident at a pedestrian crossing in Bradford on 14 April 2008. Mr Saleem claimed his vehicle was hit from behind by a hire car driven by Mr Usman and insured by Chartis, in which his wife was a passenger.
Mr Usman – then a director of claims management company U&R Injury Claim Specialists – admitted liability for the accident. Mr Usman’s wife separately filed a claim against her husband for damages for personal injury she allegedly sustained.
Chartis instructed Barlow Lyde & Gilbert to investigate the claims following a string of similar incidents they suspected had been staged by Mr Usman. The combined value of the linked claims exceeded £200 000.
At the trial, Christopher Storey QC concluded that Mr Usman had schemed with his wife and Mr Saleem to create a staged accident as part of an effort to defraud Chartis. The judgment leaves Mr Saleem and Mr Usman personally liable for Chartis’ costs, which exceed £20 000.
The linked claims have since been abandoned, as has Mr Usman’s wife’s claim for damages. Separately, the Ministry of Justice has cancelled U&R’s authorisation to trade.
A spokesman for BLG confirmed that “Chartis has now issued instructions for the file to be handed over to the police, which will happen this week.”
David Miller, head of claims at Chartis UK, said: “This judgment is a salutary lesson to those who think insurance companies are an easy target. Just as fraudsters are becoming increasingly sophisticated in the ways they try to defraud insurers, so the companies themselves and the specialist lawyers they engage are rising to the challenge and pursuing suspect claims all the way to court.”
Damian Ward, head of fraud at BLG, said: “It’s very important that we deliver results for our clients in the courts. It sends a strong message that insurance companies like Chartis won’t allow suspect claims to go unchallenged. Our investigative team goes to great lengths to expose fraudsters, who could find themselves facing hefty bills – or worse – as a result of their actions.”
Source: PostOnline
