Drivers 'crashing for cash'

Thousands of drivers have deliberately crashed their cars in order to make a fraudulent insurance claim, according to moneysupermarket.com.

Blaming the recession for this behaviour, the price comparison website discovered that 3% of drivers have considered staging an accident, while 1% admitted to having actually done so.

The insurance industry divides this kind of fraud into three types or crash:

• Staged accidents where two vehicles deliberately crash to make a claim.
• Contrived accidents where a claim is made for a crash that didn't happen.
• Induced accidents where a driver forces the vehicle behind to crash into them – for example, by braking suddenly.

Who are the worst offenders?
Men are more than twice as likely to have staged an accident as women (5% compared with 2%). Drivers in their twenties are the highest offenders – 3% admitted to having made a fraudulent claim, while a further 6% said they'd consider doing so.

Londoners are the most devious drivers as a region, with 6% either having committed fraud, or contemplated doing so, compared with 2% of drivers in Wales and Northern Ireland.

Crime doesn't pay
Drivers found guilty processing fraudulent claims are likely to find it difficult, if not impossible, to get insurance in the future.

Cost to honest drivers
Fraudulent claims add £40 to the average annual insurance premium, according to the Association of British Insurers.