Teresa Hunter: Alarming scale of fraud on the road endangers us all

Published on Friday 15 July 2011 12:55

MOTOR insurance fraud is rampant, with recession-hit drivers literally risking life and limb to raise cash, if figures from the latest survey on car crime are to be believed.

One in 20 young drivers admitted they had successfully staged or invented a car accident to claim on their insurance, when questioned by a financial comparison website.

Findings from its research have led Moneysupermarket to conclude that 4 per cent of road users are a threat to themselves and other motorists.

This tallies with data from the Association of British Insurers showing more than 2,000 dishonest insurance claims worth in excess of 16 million are detected every week.

The most common fraudulent accidents include staged crashes where two vehicles deliberately bump into each other, with scant thought about the impact on other nearby motorists.

Contrived accidents are another insurance con, where fraudsters fabricate a claim for a motor incident that never took place.

Finally, there has been a worrying increase in induced motor accidents where a motorist deliberately forces an innocent driver to crash into them, for example by braking suddenly so they are hit from behind.

The research found that of those who had successfully invented or deliberately caused a motor incident, nearly half (44 per cent) were "staged', a quarter (24 per cent) were "contrived" and 8 per cent were "induced".

All this points to the need for motorists to drive defensively, and be on the lookout for early warning signals of another's malicious intent.

Organised motor fraud not only costs the insurance industry, pushing up insurance premiums for all drivers, but risks the safety of innocent drivers, passengers and pedestrians.

If caught, you could go to jail and can forget about ever driving again. No insurer will touch you and an official "fraud mark" could be added to your licence.

Property seller puzzle

ALMOST one in three residential property transactions fell through in the first six months of 2011, according to figures released today by the UK's largest conveyancer, 1st Property Lawyers.

The firm only acts south of the Border, but its findings have thrown up some interesting trends, such as the steady rise of aborted transactions over the past three years from 21 to 29 per cent.

Puzzlingly, the key reason for sales aborting is not buyers pulling out but sellers withdrawing their properties from the market. This is why four out of ten sales that fall through collapse. Six per cent of these decide to rent out their properties instead.

But buyers are nervous too. They are responsible for pulling the plug in 23 per cent of failed sales.

The good news for buyers is that the number of cases aborted due to failure of the buyer to secure a mortgage is falling. One in ten aborted purchases this year was due to difficulties securing mortgage finance - however, this figure is down by half from 15 per cent in 2009.Cards cost travellers

HOLIDAYMAKERS are squandering nearly 400m a year because of high charges levied on their credit and debit cards abroad, according to new research from Sainsbury's Finance.

They can find themselves subject to transaction fees of between 2.5 per cent and 5 per cent, and a foreign exchange loading of the same on top. Typically, every purchase or cash withdrawal will cost them 5 per cent of the transaction, with minimums of at least 5 a time.

So it makes sense to apply for a fee-free card before you travel. Halifax's Clarity credit card makes no overseas or cash dispenser charges, and levies no fee for transferring balances. Having recently used it on holiday, I can also report we received a very favourable exchange rate.

Santander's Zero credit card charges nothing for forex transactions or cash withdrawals. However, it levies a 10 dormancy fee if the card is not regularly used. Interest on cash transactions is high at 27.9 per cent, with an 18.9 APR representative rate on other balances.

The Post Office does not load foreign transactions but will charge a 2.5 per cent cash withdrawal fee.

Merger warning

NORWICH and Peterborough Building Society has begun mailing members with voting packs, informing them that the board "strongly recommends" the proposed merger with the Yorkshire Building Society.

I suspect it must fear trouble at the special general meeting on 22 August in Peterborough when the merger ballot will take place. The N&P is a much-loved society in its heartland.

But members are being warned that a refusal to support the merger will result in further cost-cutting measures and branch closures, while borrowers will see their mortgage rate cut if it goes ahead.

So it's looking rather like a Hobson's choice.