I nsurance Fraud

It is crucial to take legal advice as soon as possible if there is a possibility an investigation will be launched or allegations have been made concerning insurance fraud.

Insurance fraud occurs when a person acts dishonestly when taking out or claiming on an insurance policy, either to benefit themselves, another or cause a loss for someone else.

Insurance fraud covers many different situations, some are as follows:

• Contrived accidents
• Staged or induced road traffic accidents
• Phantom passenger claims
• Application fraud
• Exaggerating legitimate claims
• Making exaggerated claims regarding loss
• Making false claims
• Deliberately causing damage to property
• Staging a false burglary in order to generate money
• Fraudulent insurance policy
• Providing inaccurate or false information regarding businesses

We can advise on commercial insurance fraud cases, and personal or residential insurance fraud cases, including:

• Art or antiques insurance fraud
• Buildings insurance fraud
• Commercial insurance fraud
• Contents insurance fraud
• Dangerous sports insurance fraud
• Employment liability insurance fraud
• Equine insurance fraud
• Holiday insurance fraud
• Life insurance fraud
• Livestock insurance fraud
• Marine insurance fraud
• Medical insurance fraud
• Motor insurance fraud
• Pet insurance fraud
• Public liability insurance fraud
• Retail and shop insurance fraud
• Shipping insurance fraud
• Stock insurance fraud
• Valuables insurance fraud

Investigations into insurance fraud are ever expanding usually facilitated by the internet and technology.

These investigations are extremely thoroughly investigated by both the insurance companies and the police and can cause immense disruption to a business, and individuals, who are the subject matter of those investigations. These investigations may cause irreparable damage to reputations.

Essentially, the investigation and prosecution teams will be seeking for evidence in order to establish and prove there was an insurance fraud. These offences are commonly prosecuted as offences of conspiracy to defraud or fraud by false representation. It could also include specific regulatory or money laundering offences.

Quite often, insurance fraud investigations can be complex and cross different jurisdictions.

Belgravia Solicitors can advise you and liaise with authorities which may be involved in a insurance fraud investigation, including the following:

• The Police Service (including the City of London Police)
• Trading Standards
• Department for Work & Pensions (DWP)
• Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)
• Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
• HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)
• Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
• National Crime Agency (NCA)
• Serious Fraud Office (SFO)

At Belgravia Solicitors we robustly challenge the evidence presented, where necessary challenging the procedures undertaken to obtain the evidence, challenge the admissibility of the evidence and ensure the evidence, an insurance fraud investigation case is built upon, is not misinterpreted and fight your corner to give you the best chance of achieving the result you want from your case.

We will always ensure that the evidence is properly considered and will instruct appropriate experts on your behalf when evidence needs to be obtained, challenged, further examined, or excluded.

If you, your business / company, a family member / relative, or a friend are accused of insurance fraud, it is important to seek legal advice. Discussing your case with a specialist lawyer who understands the offence of insurance fraud at an early stage is essential to help understand what can be done to prepare a proper defence. We can be contacted on 03330 16 96 16 or on email: mail@belgraviasolicitors.co.uk