Around Ealing Autumn 2015 | Page 51

FRAUDLINE You, and Ealing Council, are picking up the tab for people involved in shameless insurance scams. Do not let them squirrel away public money this autumn. T he council sometimes finds itself on the end of such claims: Either completely fabricated, or exaggerated, by people looking to make some money. In fact, as many as one in five of all insurance claims in the UK are fraudulent. Every year, this fraud results in millions of pounds being wasted across the country. These criminal attempts to steal from the public purse are not victimless crimes because you, the taxpayer, are always left to pick up the bill – and, consequently, funding for our local services suffers. This is because, even if an insurance claim is turned down, you are still paying for a case to be investigated and defended in court. A recent case cost the council £100,000 to disprove a bogus claim about a faked fall. Every pound we save by preventing this type of fraud could be spent on local services instead. In these tough economic times, it is especially important. HELP US STOP THEM By calling FraudLine, you can help us stop these crimes against our community. If you think you have some information about a fraudulent insurance claim you can call 0800 328 9270 – a special 24-hour hotline. It is free and confidential, and is manned by people with the expertise to help. The council, and FraudLine, has the support of the governmentfunded Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department, led by City of London Police. TYPES OF FRAUD There are common types of insurance fraud. These include making exaggerated claims by pretending an accident was far worse than it really was; untrue personal injury claims that describe a false set of circumstances, time or place of an accident; completely bogus claims that use invented symptoms or an incident that never occurred; and multiple claims where the fraudster knowingly makes claims for the same injury in a number of different local authority areas. FRAUDLINE Call the 24-hour freephone hotline 0800 328 9270 around ealing Autumn 2015 51