Aviva reports a 20% increase in last minute withdrawals of suspicious claims
Aviva welcomes judges handing down criminal convictions to fraudsters
6 August 2024, Dublin: Aviva Insurance Ireland DAC (Aviva) has confirmed that the trend reported last year of claimants where fraud was suspected withdrawing their claims just before or on the steps of the court continues, with increased numbers coming through. The company has seen a 20% increase as 41 claimants withdrew their claims just before the court hearing in the period from 1 June 2023 to 31 May 2024, with a reserve value of €540,000. The equivalent number of withdrawals in the period 1 June 2022 to 31 May 2023 was 34, with a value of €378,000. The claims were withdrawn following the realisation that Aviva was not going to agree a payout but was determined to challenge them in the courts.
During the period, a further 49 suspected fraudulent claims did go into court, with findings in the company’s favour in 28 cases, and against the company in 21 instances. These figures compare with 22 court cases between 1 June ’22 and 31 May ’23 where the court found in favour of Aviva, while 17 cases went against the company. These statistics bring the total number of suspicious claims that the company defended up to and including in the courts to 90 in the ’23-’24 period, the cost of which, to include legal fees and man hours, was c. €1 million. The 90 suspected fraudulent cases were an increase of 27 of which were completed during the ’22-’23 period.
Aviva continues to report claims where there is a suspicion of fraud to the gardai and welcomed the fact that nine of these reports resulted in criminal convictions in the last 12 months. This includes three fraudsters who staged a road accident in order to make a claim and were convicted following the court hearing, with two receiving a four-year term in prison and one a suspended sentence.
Commenting Rob Smyth Senior Fraud Manager at Aviva said: “We continue to enforce a zero-tolerance approach where personal injury claims are suspected to be fraudulent, including exaggerated claims despite the additional costs involved. We continue to invest in fraud defences to improve our ability to identify suspected fraudulent claims and protect our customers. We are particularly pleased to see the criminal courts impose prison sentences on convicted fraudsters because there must be a consequence for those perpetrating fraud on innocent motorists and business owners.
We continue to enforce a zero-tolerance approach where personal injury claims are suspected to be fraudulent, including exaggerated claims despite the additional costs involved. We continue to invest in fraud defences to improve our ability to identify suspected fraudulent claims and protect our customers. We are particularly pleased to see the criminal courts impose prison sentences on convicted fraudsters because there must be a consequence for those perpetrating fraud on innocent motorists and business owners.
Rob Smyth Senior Fraud Manager
“The impact of fraudulent claims on our customers is significant as they await the prolonged outcome of the legal process. The average length of time for the 90 suspected fraudulent claims to conclude was 5.2 years and the longest case last year ran on for 12 years, from 2011 to 2023. This is a significant amount of time for both personal customers and small businesses who must live with this anxiety and the additional costs involved until the process completes either in the court or the claim is withdrawn,” concluded Rob Smyth.
The issue of fraudulent insurance claims has been highlighted for some years as a significant contributor to the cost of insurance premiums. The investment made by companies like Aviva in investigating and fighting these claims is having some positive impact as is seen by the growing trend of cases being withdrawn at the last minute. However, this also raises the question as to how these claims have progressed so far through the legal process without being recognised by the legal professionals involved in putting them forward.
Section 19 of the Criminal Justice Act 2011 obliges a person to disclose to the gardai, “information which he or she knows or believes might be of material assistance in – (a) preventing the commission by any other person of a relevant offence or (b) securing the apprehension, prosecution or conviction of any other person for a relevant offence”. The Law Society website advises its members that, ‘the obligation to make a report under section 19 is broad in scope, applying to any ‘person’ which would include solicitors and medical professionals.
Aviva will continue to operate a zero-tolerance approach to fraudulent or exaggerated claims activity and will defend them up to and including going into court and reporting them to the gardai. The company would like to see all stakeholders in the criminal justice system adopt a similar approach and to be vigilant in identifying and reporting fraud cases.