Marketing

Alliance calls for immediate establishment of Garda insurance fraud unit

The Alliance for Insurance Reform has accused the State of not taking insurance fraud seriously.
"It's clear that the State is not taking this crime seriously” - AIR.

“It’s clear that the State is not taking this crime seriously” – AIR.

This follows reports that a court struck-out the case against a father-of-two accused of fraud over a €60,000 road accident injury claim, “after Dublin District Court heard a book of evidence was not ready”.

Eoin McCambridge, Managing Director of McCambridge’s of Galway and a Director of the Alliance said, “Our members regularly encounter insurance fraud. Fraudulent and exaggerated insurance claims have a profound impact on the businesses and services targeted and yet there are virtually no prosecutions for this crime, with fraudsters regularly having their unsustainable claims dismissed but walking away scot-free to claim another day”.

The above case was one where he’d seen a rare prosecution collapse because the book of evidence was not ready.

“It’s clear that the State is not taking this crime seriously,” he concluded.

Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance, added, “Four years after the Cost of Insurance Working Group first addressed this issue and despite a clear commitment from An Garda Síochána in 2019 to a division-led approach, we’re no closer today to having a formal Garda response to insurance fraud.

“As a matter of urgency, Government must ensure the immediate establishment a Garda insurance fraud unit to show some level of commitment to resolving this problem. Further reports and studies are no longer acceptable in addressing this issue.”


Sign Up for Drinks Industry Ireland

Get a free weekly update on Drinks Industry trade news, direct to your inbox. Sign up now, it's free