Episode 3 Claimed and Shamed


Episode 3

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Transcript


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Insurance fraud has reached epidemic levels in the UK.

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It's costing us more than £1.3 billion every year,

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that's almost 3.6 million every day.

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Deliberate crashes, bogus personal injuries,

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even phantom pets.

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The fraudsters are risking more and more

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to make a quick killing

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and, every year, it's adding around £50 to your insurance bill.

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But insurers are fighting back,

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exposing just under 15 fake claims every hour.

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Armed with covert surveillance systems...

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Subject out of vehicle.

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..sophisticated data analysis techniques...

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..and a number of highly skilled police units...

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Police! Don't move. Stay where you are.

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..they're catching criminals red-handed.

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Just don't lie to us!

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All those conmen, scammers, and cheats on the fiddle

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are now caught in the act and claimed and shamed.

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A pedestrian's claim

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that he was clipped by a car wing mirror.

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is caught on camera.

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What we decided to do was take a look at the CCTV footage

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from lots of different angles,

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just to make sure that we hadn't missed the impact.

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But it was nowhere to be found.

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And the muzzle is off when a woman's doggie deception is exposed.

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It was very clear that the puppy had damaged herself

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four hours before the policyholder had taken the policy out.

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And, in America, a father confesses to killing his son

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in a shocking life insurance scam.

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Now, if any aspect of an insurance claim is falsified,

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then that's fraud.

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Pretty straightforward, you'd reckon.

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While scammers often think that providing fake details

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to allow an innocent third party to make a claim will protect them

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but they're wrong

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because it is still fraud, pure and simple,

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and insurers will pursue these cheats at all costs.

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Whether you are hiring a car, bike, or cement-mixer,

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these things will all be covered by insurance, should anything happen.

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Scott Clayton is a fraud and investigations manager for Zurich,

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and it's his job to deal with suspicious claims.

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He was asked to review one case

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where a hire company had leased professional camera equipment

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to a customer travelling abroad to make a movie.

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The claim we got was that Mr Kakaie

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had put this video equipment into four holdalls

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and checked them in on a flight from Aberdeen to Istanbul, via Heathrow,

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and the bags had been lost somewhere in transit between the two places.

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The value was quite significant

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because it was very expensive camera equipment.

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So, in total, it was approximately £189,000.

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With such a massive loss, all eyes were on the airline.

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However, lost luggage isn't unheard of.

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It does usually turn up somewhere.

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It's not very often that you get a suggestion that bags

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have been completely lost,

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with all the technology the airlines have tracking bags, etc,

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so to suggest that four bags were lost between these airports

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was quite suspicious, in its own right.

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So, obviously, that prompted the investigation.

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And there was one very obvious first port of call

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for Scott's investigation.

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We took steps to contact the airline because,

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with the technology the airlines have these days

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tracking bags through airports,

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we wanted to find out exactly what records they had.

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And as it turned out, the airline in question

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was able to provide some very revealing information.

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We were pleasantly surprised to learn

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that the bags had actually been X-rayed

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as they passed through the airport.

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So, the images were clearly of significant interest to us.

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But no-one could have predicted what these X-rays would -

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or rather would not - show.

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We were quite shocked to see that, instead of having £189,000 worth

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of camera equipment, they had nothing in them.

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This was crucial evidence,

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as it competently disproved Kakaie's account,

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which stated the camera equipment

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had been checked in t the airport to begin with,

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and strongly suggested foul play.

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At this point, we're thinking

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this is clearly somebody who's tried to claim that

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he's lost all this camera equipment,

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when he's probably kept it for himself

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and even used it, sold it, whatever.

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So it was a fraud.

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And we were obviously keen to get the bottom of it.

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At this point, it was looking likely that Kakaie had submitted

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a completely made-up insurance claim to the hire company

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in order to steal the camera equipment he had hired.

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Clearly, when we got the X-ray images

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showing that the bags were empty, this was the gotcha moment,

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because the evidence was compelling and, armed with that,

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we could then look to refer the matter to the police.

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The case was passed on to the City of London Police's

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Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department,

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where it was handled by DCI Oliver Little and his team.

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When we received the case, it was clear to us

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that what we needed to do was go and see Mr Kakaie,

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get his account, and find out if there's any property

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linking him to that missing equipment at his home address.

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Armed with a search warrant, IFED detectives paid Mr Kakaie a visit.

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When we got to Mr Kakaie's address, we did a thorough search.

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We were able to find five of the batteries of the cameras

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that were supposedly stolen during this theft.

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It was the hard evidence that detectives were hoping to find.

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Kakaie was arrested and charged with theft

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and fraud by false representation.

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But when he was questioned, he refused to deviate from his script.

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We interviewed Mr Kakaie on two occasions.

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On the first occasion, he stuck to his version of events.

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He put the items in the bags, as described, and they'd been stolen.

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On the second interview, faced with the overwhelming evidence,

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he didn't cooperate, he didn't speak, he just turned around.

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His sudden stage fright would do him no good

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as, by this point, IFED detectives

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had secured all the proof they needed

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that Kakaie was starring in his own criminal caper.

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Taking all the evidence into account,

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it was quite clear that Mr Kakaie had attempted

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a fairly major fraud here.

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He was after well over £100,000 for this camera equipment.

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So, we put that through to the Crown Prosecution Service

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and prosecuted him in the court.

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The case proceeded to trial at the Old Bailey.

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Taking it all together,

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the evidence we presented to the court was compelling.

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We had some of the items that he reported as being stolen

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in his home address,

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and his account of how they had moved

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through the airports just wasn't true.

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The evidence of the scanner was a critical part of the case.

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After a six-day trial, Kakaie was found guilty

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of two counts of fraud by false representation

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and one count of theft.

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And the penalty for his crimes would be severe.

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After trial, at which Mr Kakaie

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again tried to protest his innocence, he was found guilty

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and convicted to a sentence of imprisonment for two years.

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A hefty punishment for this movie-making fraudster,

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which may have been reduced if he'd come clean.

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I think the level of sentence reflects the amount of money

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that he was trying to defraud, so the greed of Mr Kakaie,

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and the fact that he never, ever admitted

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that what he'd done had been wrong.

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He never held his hands up. He kept sticking to his story.

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This was a brazen attempt at fraud and, like so many others,

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it's got them absolutely nowhere but in prison.

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A man claiming he's too injured to work

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appears to be fighting fit.

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They were able to find video evidence of a claimant

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fighting in a kick-boxing competition,

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only five weeks after the accident.

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And a serial scammer's bogus travel insurance claims are unravelled.

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I do believe, at this point in time,

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he was fully aware that we were onto him

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and other insurers were requesting reimbursements of their funds.

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Now, we've all had near misses,

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whether it's not looking before crossing a road,

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or using quick reflexes to avoid a falling object.

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While most of us are just relieved to be unscathed,

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there are some people who see a near miss

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as a chance to collect a juicy pay-out they don't deserve.

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Cars, buses, trains, cyclists, angry dogs and rogue runners

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are just a few everyday hazards that could cause you harm

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if you happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

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BLM lawyer Sarah Hill, instructed by insurers Direct Line

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to handle one personal injury case that appeared legitimate.

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The circumstances surrounding the claim was that

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the policyholder was leaving his employment

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and he was on his way out of the business park in his vehicle

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when he came across an obstacle.

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There was a car with a pedestrian by the side of it,

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another employee,

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and the driver had to overtake to pass him to leave.

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This doesn't sound good.

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In doing so, it's alleged that he didn't leave enough room

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between his vehicle and the pedestrian, and that his

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wing mirror clipped the lower back of the pedestrian,

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causing him injury.

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The claim in total was around about £18,000.

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It may have just been the car's wing mirror,

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but it had clipped the claimant good and proper.

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The injuries were serious enough for him to say that it impacted upon his

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life for a period of seven months, and for four months in particular,

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he was unable to do anything that was normal

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in his life, such as gardening or going to the gym

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or even undertaking his normal working duties.

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The report suggested this claimant had really been through it,

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but any sympathy for his case would soon disappear.

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On the surface, it looked like a genuine claim,

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that is until evidence started to come in.

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A crucial piece of evidence that we obtained was

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a copy of the CCTV footage for the business park.

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Clearly, what you can see from the CCTV footage is that there was

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no impact between the wing mirror and the lower back,

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and there actually was enough room between the two,

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and the claimant was clear of any overtaking manoeuvre.

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Yeah, not the faintest of feather touches, but let's double-check.

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We were quite surprised, actually.

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What we decided to do was take a look at the CCTV footage from

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lots of different angles just to make sure that we hadn't missed...

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erm, the impact. But it was nowhere to be found.

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It may have been close,

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but the claimant's roadside shimmy had saved him.

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And how would you expect someone who's just been hit by a car

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to be feeling?

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Rather bizarrely, the claimant, A, doesn't hold his back,

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doesn't look as if there's been any impact,

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he's certainly not crying

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and he's walked away from the vehicle smiling.

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But what about the claimant's reported injuries

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and chronic pain?

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He went to see a physiotherapist 12 days after the alleged impact

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and he told the physiotherapist

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that he was well, that his movement was fine.

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The physiotherapist couldn't see any sign of injury in the lower back,

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in the lumbar spine,

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yet that completely conflicted with what he told the medical expert.

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Miraculous...

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considering he'd alleged to have suffered for seven months

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following the accident.

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Given the weight of evidence, the claim was repudiated.

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What happened next was that the claimant issued legal proceedings,

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which was quite a surprise,

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given that the claimant had actually seen the CCTV footage at this stage.

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But even conclusive video evidence wouldn't deter this claimant.

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With all the evidence, the claimant decided to try his luck in court

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and present his evidence to a judge.

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He upheld the fact that, actually, there hadn't been an impact

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and that the claimant hadn't told the truth

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through the course of the proceedings.

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The claimant may have had a near miss with the wing mirror,

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but he would regret his brush with the law.

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The outcome was the judge dismissed the claim on the basis that he found

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that no impact had occurred, so no injury could've been sustained

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and to penalise the claimant, the claimant was ordered to pay costs.

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He's now facing a hefty bill of nearly £12,000 for his efforts.

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And despite Sarah's experience,

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she's still amazed by the behaviour of insurance chancers.

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I am surprised at the extent and the level and the nature that

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people will go to, in light of really strong evidence,

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still to progress what in fact is a lie.

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Pet insurance can give you the peace of mind that if your furry friend

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needs treatment, you won't be left facing huge vet bills.

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But there are some scammers who think that taking out

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a policy AFTER an incident has happened is acceptable.

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Well, it isn't. It is in fact insurance fraud.

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Whether you've got a mischievous moggy or a troublesome terrier,

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there'll be an insurance policy to cover your pet against

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unforeseen illnesses and accidents.

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Agria are a specialist in this field, and their managing director,

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Simon Wheeler, has a keen nose for spurious claims.

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His team received an everyday enquiry from a potential customer

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considering taking out one of their policies.

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The first time we heard from the policyholder

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was when she called for a quote on 8th February,

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and she wanted quotes for two dogs.

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So these two pooches were reported to be in tiptop condition.

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When we give quotations and sell people policies,

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we go through a number of questions, we take a lot of details,

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and one of the things that we ask

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is for the owner to confirm that the dog is fit and healthy.

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And there's a very good reason for that,

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which the call-handler relays to the customer.

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In this incident, the owner confirmed that both dogs

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were fit and healthy.

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Once the quoted had been received,

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the woman was eager to put the policy in place.

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The next time we heard from the policyholder was only

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a couple of hours later, so she called back on the same day

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and took out policies for both dogs, they were both puppies,

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and we insured them, but part of that process was again to go through

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the same questions, that there was nothing wrong with the dogs.

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In this instance, yet again, she told us, yes,

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both dogs were fit and healthy.

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By this point, Agria had gone to great lengths to establish

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that both dogs were in good health, and so the policy was taken out.

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But it wasn't long before they heard from her again.

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The next time we heard from the policyholder was two days later,

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when she rang us and asked for a claim form,

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and she explained that the day before,

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so 9th February, the West Highland white puppy

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had fallen out of her car and damaged one of its hind legs.

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The woman was claiming the accident involving one of the Westie puppies

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happened just one day AFTER taking out the policy.

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Possible, but rather suspicious.

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When the puppy was first presented to the vet, it was limping

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quite badly on one of its back legs.

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The vet examined it and probably diagnosed

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a fairly straightforward strain and suggested that the owner

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didn't walk the dog too aggressively and just rest the dog.

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But it seems a bit of bed rest wouldn't be enough

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to get this pup back on its feet.

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Later that same day, the dog was in front of the vet again,

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and it couldn't put any weight on that leg,

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so the vet X-rayed the puppy and

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an operation followed, because the dog had completely separated

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the stifle joint at the top of the tibia, so a broken leg.

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A nasty injury and a very costly operation.

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In order to make a prompt payment,

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Simon's team were keen to get their paws on the dog's medical records.

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When we receive a claim, as part of our normal checks,

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our normal processes, we start to look at the veterinary history and

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the vet's sequence of events and report on what had happened.

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And at that point, we started to see that perhaps some of the dates

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didn't quite line up with the story the policyholder had told us.

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In fact, her story was starting to look as lame

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as her unfortunate pooch.

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When we delved into the veterinary records

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and we looked at the point at which the policy had been taken out,

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it was very clear that the puppy had damaged itself

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four hours before the policyholder had taken the policy out,

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and two hours before they'd even got a quotation for the policy.

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This is where our claimant's puppy plot starts to unravel.

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She's previously stated the accident happened on 9th February,

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the day after the policy was purchased, but the vet's records

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clearly showed that the injured dog was first examined

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on 8th February, four hours BEFORE the policy ever existed.

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Potentially confusing facts, but a simple truth - the insurance cover

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had been taken out AFTER the dog was injured, making this a false claim.

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Faced with the conflicting dates,

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we wrote to the policyholder and asked her if she could shed

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some light on to the discrepancies between the story she'd told us

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and the history that the vet had supplied to us.

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Once that correspondence was received by the claimant,

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she got straight on the dog-and-bone to Agria's claims team.

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And the claimant had an interesting explanation in response

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to Agria's concerns.

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Her response was that at the time that she saw the vet

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with the puppy, the vet had said there was nothing wrong with the puppy

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and, again, we pointed out that very clearly from the veterinary records

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the dog was limping and the dog wasn't well,

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which is why it had been taken to the vet in the first place.

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Well, the veterinary records clearly stated

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there WAS something wrong with the puppy

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but, crucially, they also showed

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that the claimant had taken the puppy

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to the vet's with a suspected injury before taking out the policy.

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Faced with the discrepancies in the dates, the policyholder

0:21:170:21:21

at that point decided that she would cancel both policies.

0:21:210:21:25

This type of claim never is,

0:21:380:21:40

and she really was barking up the wrong tree with this doggy deceit.

0:21:400:21:44

In this incident, I think we had a policyholder who felt that

0:21:440:21:48

the insurance company would just pay the bill.

0:21:480:21:50

It's very frustrating

0:21:500:21:52

when policyholders think that they can get away with it,

0:21:520:21:56

because the chances are they just don't.

0:21:560:21:59

Now, if you've ever had an accident,

0:22:040:22:05

you may have been contacted by a claims management company

0:22:050:22:08

telling you that you're entitled to compensation and that making

0:22:080:22:11

a personal injury claim is easy and hassle free.

0:22:110:22:15

What they might not tell you is that making

0:22:150:22:17

a false or exaggerated claim is fraud,

0:22:170:22:20

and if your case is found to be bogus in any way,

0:22:200:22:23

then you alone are 100% responsible.

0:22:230:22:27

The days of submitting a cheeky whiplash claim for

0:22:280:22:31

a guaranteed pay-out are long gone, as insurance companies like Esure

0:22:310:22:35

now have a zero-tolerance attitude towards this type of activity.

0:22:350:22:40

Any suspicious claim received by Esure is investigated

0:22:400:22:44

and, if need be, referred to a specialist insurance law firm,

0:22:440:22:48

Horwich Farrelly.

0:22:480:22:50

Partner Ronan McCann recently handled an all-too-common case.

0:22:500:22:54

This was a claim for a personal injury

0:22:540:22:57

as a result of a road traffic accident,

0:22:570:22:59

so roughly £2,000. There was also a claim for vehicle repairs,

0:22:590:23:04

which cost around £500.

0:23:040:23:07

And it was Esure's policyholder who was at fault in one of the

0:23:070:23:11

most everyday accident scenarios on the road.

0:23:110:23:15

The circumstances to this accident was that it was after work.

0:23:150:23:20

The defendant was travelling home.

0:23:200:23:22

In front of him, in very heavy traffic, was a claimant.

0:23:220:23:26

No prizes for guessing where this is going.

0:23:260:23:29

The defendant assumed the claimant was going to move forward

0:23:290:23:33

and he moved off at very low speed.

0:23:330:23:36

Unfortunately, the claimant didn't move,

0:23:360:23:39

and there was a slight kissing of the vehicles.

0:23:390:23:42

And this coming together really was a fleeting peck

0:23:430:23:47

on the claimant's rear end.

0:23:470:23:48

This accident was the most minor of impacts.

0:23:480:23:51

The defendant described it as a "touching of the vehicles".

0:23:510:23:55

The damages to both cars might have been minor,

0:23:550:23:58

but the same couldn't be said for the claimant.

0:23:580:24:02

The allegation from the claimant was that he sustained

0:24:020:24:04

a whiplash-type injury to his neck lasting four months.

0:24:040:24:08

And the claimant's first port of call after the accident

0:24:110:24:15

wasn't where you might expect.

0:24:150:24:17

The chronology after the accident was suspicious.

0:24:170:24:21

The claimant did not first attend upon his GP

0:24:210:24:25

to complain about his injuries

0:24:250:24:27

but instead went first to see solicitors to pursue

0:24:270:24:31

a personal injury claim.

0:24:310:24:33

So it seemed as if the claimant had money on his mind

0:24:330:24:36

rather than his health.

0:24:360:24:37

This immediately rang alarm bells.

0:24:370:24:40

Why would anybody first attend upon solicitors

0:24:400:24:43

to pursue a personal injury claim as opposed to attending

0:24:430:24:47

upon a GP to get their treatment for their injuries?

0:24:470:24:52

Good question, especially when you consider this guy's hobby.

0:24:520:24:57

The claimant, who was a keen amateur kickboxer,

0:24:570:25:01

suggested that he couldn't partake in any sports

0:25:010:25:04

during the period that he was injured.

0:25:040:25:08

Well, that's a given. Or so you'd think.

0:25:080:25:11

But the claimant's bid for compensation was about to take

0:25:110:25:13

a real body blow as Esure did some digging online.

0:25:130:25:17

They were able to find video evidence of the claimant

0:25:170:25:21

fighting in a kickboxing competition

0:25:210:25:24

only five weeks after the accident.

0:25:240:25:27

This showed the claimant taking kicks and punches to the head

0:25:270:25:31

and for Esure, this clearly suggested to them

0:25:310:25:34

that it was a fraudulent claim.

0:25:340:25:36

A quite amazing feat, considering the claimant

0:25:360:25:40

was reportedly suffering with chronic neck pain

0:25:400:25:43

as a result of the accident.

0:25:430:25:45

Only two weeks before the fight,

0:25:470:25:49

the claimant had attended upon a medical legal practitioner

0:25:490:25:52

and described that he was suffering from severe injuries.

0:25:520:25:57

In no way could somebody with severe injuries to the neck

0:25:570:26:01

take part in such a kickboxing fight.

0:26:010:26:03

Well, considering it's one of the most ferocious forms

0:26:030:26:06

of fighting, you'd assume not.

0:26:060:26:09

When the medical records were reviewed,

0:26:090:26:12

it seemed completely inconsistent that the claimant first

0:26:120:26:16

mentioned to the GP initially that his only injuries were to his neck.

0:26:160:26:22

It seemed to us that he invented the suggestion that his head

0:26:220:26:26

and knee injuries were as a result of the road traffic accident.

0:26:260:26:31

Ronan's team had all the evidence they needed to take action.

0:26:310:26:35

As a result, we took the view that we would disclose the video footage

0:26:350:26:39

and invite the claimant to discontinue.

0:26:390:26:42

But instead of throwing in the towel,

0:26:420:26:45

the claimant opted to go toe to toe with Horwich Farrelly in court.

0:26:450:26:50

When this case got to trial, the video footage was crucial.

0:26:500:26:54

When that was considered by the judge against

0:26:540:26:58

the inconsistencies in the chronology, in the evidence,

0:26:580:27:01

the judge could not accept a word that the claimant had said.

0:27:010:27:05

And when it came to deciding a verdict,

0:27:050:27:08

the decision didn't take long.

0:27:080:27:10

The judge dismissed the claimant's case

0:27:100:27:13

and looked at the video evidence and commented that the claimant

0:27:130:27:17

looked perfectly fit and healthy.

0:27:170:27:19

The judge found that the claimant was fundamentally dishonest,

0:27:190:27:23

and was ordered to pay approximately £8,000.

0:27:230:27:26

The kickboxer's claim had hit the canvas

0:27:280:27:31

and he'd ended up with a whopping court bill

0:27:310:27:34

for both solicitors' costs.

0:27:340:27:36

In my view, these individuals are convinced to bring claims

0:27:360:27:41

by accident management companies or claimant solicitors

0:27:410:27:45

who explain to them that they are extremely straightforward.

0:27:450:27:48

The result in this case shows the risks of anyone who believes that.

0:27:480:27:53

Although, the claimant in this case has a significant cost order,

0:27:530:27:57

he was very lucky that he didn't spend some time in prison.

0:27:570:28:01

A woman secretly records her husband in an attempt

0:28:090:28:12

to get the truth about her son's death.

0:28:120:28:15

Insurance cheats often think that just because they've got away

0:28:340:28:37

with it once, they can do it again and again and again.

0:28:370:28:40

Well, they might get away with it once, maybe even twice,

0:28:400:28:44

but in the end, insurers will identify those scammers.

0:28:440:28:48

Collinson Group offers a range of travel services.

0:28:510:28:54

Mathew Crawford-Thomas is their fraud manager, and his speciality

0:28:540:28:57

is dealing with bogus insurance claims.

0:28:570:29:00

He was asked to investigate one case

0:29:000:29:02

from a customer who'd reportedly suffered some tourism trauma.

0:29:020:29:06

We received a claim from our insured

0:29:060:29:09

for a rather harrowing experience that he had

0:29:090:29:11

whilst in a market in Cambodia.

0:29:110:29:13

He'd had over £3,000 worth of valuable items

0:29:130:29:16

stolen from his lap whilst he was on a tuk-tuk.

0:29:160:29:19

The items our insured was claiming for was a rather large

0:29:190:29:23

amount of high-end camera equipment and including an Apple iPad.

0:29:230:29:28

The high-value and location of this claim were instant red flags.

0:29:280:29:33

So Matt used a handy tool at his disposal.

0:29:330:29:36

The insurance fraud investigators' database is full of individuals

0:29:360:29:40

that are either suspected of fraud and/or proven fraud.

0:29:400:29:43

Our insured person did not appear on that database.

0:29:430:29:47

With a seemingly unblemished insurance history,

0:29:470:29:51

Matt's team began processing the claim.

0:29:510:29:54

But then there was an interesting development.

0:29:540:29:58

I happened to have a chance conversation with a fellow

0:29:580:30:01

fraud professional at another insurance company.

0:30:010:30:04

She advised me that she'd also received a claim

0:30:040:30:07

for a similar circumstances for our insured.

0:30:070:30:10

Matt's good fortune would soon turn into hard luck

0:30:100:30:13

for the claimant, as fraud investigators

0:30:130:30:16

don't believe in coincidence.

0:30:160:30:18

After the chance conversation, I ran his details through

0:30:180:30:22

the database again and, lo and behold, I found a match.

0:30:220:30:25

This insurers' resource is continually updated

0:30:250:30:29

and another insurer registered the claimant as a fraud risk shortly

0:30:290:30:34

after Matt had initially checked it.

0:30:340:30:36

After putting my own alert out on an industry-wide database,

0:30:360:30:40

it subsequently transpired that this individual had made 12 claims

0:30:400:30:45

with nine insurers since 2012.

0:30:450:30:47

I then proceeded, under the Data Protection Act,

0:30:470:30:50

to secure the documents to see whether or not

0:30:500:30:53

the items claimed were in fact the same.

0:30:530:30:55

The evidence suggested Matt had a potential serial scammer

0:30:550:30:59

on his hands, which was supported by the next revelation.

0:30:590:31:03

Once we'd received all 12 claims, it transpired

0:31:030:31:07

that this individual had in fact sent the same receipts

0:31:070:31:10

to four different insurance companies over a six-month period.

0:31:100:31:15

The claimant was attempting to repeat the same claim

0:31:150:31:18

for the same items with multiple insurers.

0:31:180:31:22

Eager to get his hands on the cash,

0:31:220:31:24

the claimant was soon back on the phone.

0:31:240:31:27

Nope. Only when claims are suspected to be false,

0:31:390:31:43

and he's right to sound nervous.

0:31:430:31:45

I do believe at this point in time, he was fully aware

0:31:450:31:48

that we were on to him, and other insurers

0:31:480:31:51

were requesting reimbursement of their funds.

0:31:510:31:53

With his claim collapsing, one last call came in.

0:31:530:31:57

The last call from our insured was 20 minutes

0:31:590:32:01

after he had originally rang requesting an update.

0:32:010:32:04

It was in this call that he decided to retract his claim.

0:32:040:32:07

Regardless of the fact that our insured had retracted

0:32:230:32:25

his claim, to me he had still attempted

0:32:250:32:28

to commit fraud by false representation.

0:32:280:32:30

I then made a report into IFED and asked them whether or not they would

0:32:300:32:34

take the case on.

0:32:340:32:36

Officers at the City of London Police's Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department were happy to oblige.

0:32:360:32:42

After lengthy investigations by IFED,

0:32:420:32:45

it was finally referred to the CPS.

0:32:450:32:47

The CPS have decided, due to his previous good character,

0:32:470:32:50

a conditional caution was given, at which point

0:32:500:32:53

he had to repay insurers £18,000.

0:32:530:32:56

To date, all funds have been returned.

0:32:560:32:59

Despite the payment order,

0:32:590:33:01

the claimant was still lucky to avoid further criminal prosecution,

0:33:010:33:04

and with people like Matt on the case, fraudsters beware.

0:33:040:33:09

Anybody that's attempting a fraud of this nature

0:33:090:33:12

want to be careful.

0:33:120:33:14

If they're submitting a claim with my company,

0:33:140:33:17

trust me, I will catch you.

0:33:170:33:19

We've all seen how far UK scammers will go to collect

0:33:230:33:26

an insurance pay-out, but fraudsters are an international problem.

0:33:260:33:30

In fact, our American cousins have it just as bad, with cases

0:33:300:33:34

that will shock you to your very core.

0:33:340:33:38

The rural farming town of Varick in Upstate New York

0:33:450:33:48

was home to the Karlsen family farm.

0:33:480:33:51

In 2008, 23-year-old Levi

0:33:520:33:55

was fixing his father's pick-up truck in the barn

0:33:550:33:58

when something went horribly wrong.

0:33:580:34:02

Tragically, Levi had been killed.

0:34:320:34:35

Father Karl and stepmother Cindy

0:34:370:34:39

had left Levi working alone earlier that day.

0:34:390:34:42

It appeared that he'd been trapped underneath the truck for hours.

0:34:420:34:47

At the time, investigators determined the event

0:34:490:34:52

just to be an awful accident.

0:34:520:34:55

The Karlsens appeared to be a grieving family,

0:34:550:34:58

trying to deal with the tragic loss of their son.

0:34:580:35:01

That was until an anonymous family member contacted the police

0:35:030:35:07

with an unbelievable allegation.

0:35:070:35:10

They claimed Levi's death was no accident

0:35:110:35:14

and that he was the victim of a ruthless insurance fraud

0:35:140:35:19

perpetrated by his own father.

0:35:190:35:22

It was alleged Karl Karlsen had engineered Levi's fatal

0:35:270:35:30

accident in a plot to cash in on his son's life insurance policy.

0:35:300:35:34

As a result of this call,

0:35:340:35:37

the sheriff's office reopened the investigation into Levi's death.

0:35:370:35:41

Investigations revealed that Karl had persuaded Levi to take out

0:35:430:35:47

a life insurance policy worth 700,000 just 17 days

0:35:470:35:52

before his son's death.

0:35:520:35:54

Karl had also convinced Levi not to disclose a serious throat

0:35:540:35:58

condition he suffered from in fear that the policy might be rejected,

0:35:580:36:03

meaning this 700,000 insurance policy

0:36:030:36:07

had been obtained fraudulently.

0:36:070:36:09

Levi was required to have a full physical by his insurers.

0:36:120:36:16

Karlsen knew if the undisclosed condition was discovered,

0:36:160:36:19

the policy would have most likely been voided.

0:36:190:36:22

Levi was due to attend his physical the day after he died.

0:36:240:36:28

Karlsen came under further suspicion as he had also persuaded Levi

0:36:310:36:35

to write a will on the morning of the day he died, making his

0:36:350:36:38

father the sole beneficiary of his life insurance policy.

0:36:380:36:42

Investigators were convinced that this was far more than coincidence

0:36:420:36:47

but as compelling as it was, the evidence was circumstantial.

0:36:470:36:51

They would need further proof.

0:36:510:36:53

So detectives turned to Karl's wife

0:36:530:36:56

and Levi's stepmother, Cindy Karlsen.

0:36:560:36:59

In 2012, Cindy was contacted by investigators.

0:37:010:37:05

To their surprise, she also had growing suspicions

0:37:050:37:08

that Levi's death was no accident. Six months after Levi's death,

0:37:080:37:13

Karlsen received over 700,000 from the life insurance policy.

0:37:130:37:18

Cindy explained how her husband went on a cash-feeding frenzy

0:37:180:37:22

as soon as he had the money.

0:37:220:37:24

Cindy hired a private investigator to dig into her husband's life.

0:37:240:37:29

The PI discovered a terrifying fact.

0:37:290:37:32

Without her knowledge, Karl had taken out various insurance

0:37:340:37:37

policies, which meant that in the event of Cindy's death, Karlsen

0:37:370:37:42

would be the sole beneficiary of assets and pay-outs

0:37:420:37:45

totalling 1.2 million.

0:37:450:37:48

Worried for her own life,

0:37:500:37:52

Cindy left Karlsen and they were officially separated.

0:37:520:37:56

However, Cindy agreed to co-operate with investigators and wear

0:37:560:38:00

a wire in the hope she could record her husband

0:38:000:38:03

confirming suspicions about Levi's death.

0:38:030:38:06

She arranged to meet Karl in a diner under the guise

0:38:070:38:10

of reconciling their marriage.

0:38:100:38:13

Remember, Karl previously claimed

0:38:340:38:36

to have had no knowledge of the accident

0:38:360:38:39

until he returned home with Cindy to find Levi underneath the truck.

0:38:390:38:43

He has just admitted he was present during his death.

0:38:430:38:48

A concerning statement. Karl starts to talk about Levi.

0:39:030:39:07

Cindy then asks Karl about the truck radio being turned on.

0:39:150:39:19

This statement implies the noise of the radio was intended

0:39:360:39:39

to disguise the sound of the truck collapsing on his son,

0:39:390:39:43

suggesting any actions were premeditated.

0:39:430:39:47

The conversation Cindy covertly recorded

0:39:480:39:52

was far from a full confession but Karlsen did admit

0:39:520:39:55

he was there and in fact caused the alleged accident,

0:39:550:39:59

which contradicted everything he'd said to date.

0:39:590:40:01

Investigators now had all they needed to arrest

0:40:010:40:05

and interrogate Karl Karlsen.

0:40:050:40:08

Karlsen was interviewed for over nine hours,

0:40:080:40:11

in which he repeatedly denied planning to kill his son.

0:40:110:40:15

Initially, Karlsen stuck to his original story -

0:40:280:40:31

that he had returned home with his wife and found his son dead.

0:40:310:40:36

He then admits that he was there and, in fact,

0:40:360:40:39

caused the truck to fall on Levi.

0:40:390:40:42

Karlsen maintains this was a genuine accident

0:40:540:40:58

and due to the shock,

0:40:580:40:59

he was overwhelmed and was unable to help his trapped son.

0:40:590:41:03

While Karlsen acknowledged being responsible

0:41:300:41:33

for Levi's death, he was insistent it wasn't

0:41:330:41:36

a deliberate act to kill him.

0:41:360:41:38

Despite this, investigators had enough evidence.

0:41:380:41:42

Karl Karlsen was charged with second-degree murder

0:41:420:41:45

and insurance fraud.

0:41:450:41:47

Karlsen was so anxious to get his hands on the 700,000

0:41:470:41:50

from his son's fraudulently obtained life insurance,

0:41:500:41:54

he'd done the unthinkable.

0:41:540:41:56

In 2013, the case went to court, where,

0:41:560:41:58

faced with the overwhelming evidence against him,

0:41:580:42:02

Karlsen at last told the truth.

0:42:020:42:04

He admitted to intentionally knocking the pick-up truck

0:42:040:42:07

off its jack and leaving his son underneath to die.

0:42:070:42:12

Karl Karlsen pleaded guilty to murder.

0:42:120:42:14

In his closing statement,

0:42:140:42:16

the judge told Karlsen he was not fully human and said,

0:42:160:42:19

"You belong in prison and you belong there until you die."

0:42:190:42:23

Karl Karlsen was sentenced

0:42:230:42:25

to between 15 years and life behind bars

0:42:250:42:28

Karlsen had facilitated a 700,000 insurance fraud

0:42:280:42:33

and murdered his son to make sure he was paid every penny of that money.

0:42:330:42:38

He could now spend the rest of his life behind bars.

0:42:380:42:42

From people chancing their luck by exaggerating their injuries to

0:42:470:42:50

organised criminal gangs, insurance fraud hits all of us in the pocket.

0:42:500:42:55

But instead of getting away with it,

0:42:550:42:57

more and more of these fraudsters are being claimed and shamed.

0:42:570:43:03

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