'State not taking insurance fraud seriously' - €60k fraud case struck out over incomplete book of evidence

The Alliance for Insurance Reform has reiterated its calls for the establishment of a Garda insurance fraud unit

Peter Boland, director of the Alliance for Insurance Reform said the Government must ensure the immediate establishment of a Garda insurance fraud unit to show "some level of commitment to resolving this problem.” 

The Alliance for Insurance Reform said the State is not taking insurance fraud seriously and reiterated its calls for the establishment of a Garda insurance fraud unit following reports that a court struck out a case against a father-of-two accused of fraud over a €60,000 road accident injury claim due to the book of evidence not being ready for court.

The accused had sued the Motor Insurer’s Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) but his claim was withdrawn and he was subsequently charged by the gardaí.

The charge followed a failed High Court claim he made over a 2016 accident in which he said an untraceable car knocked him off his bicycle. He had been facing trial, but the charge was struck out by Dublin District Court yesterday as the book of evidence was not ready.

“Yesterday we saw a rare prosecution collapse because the book of evidence was not ready,” Eoin McCambridge, managing director of McCambridge’s of Galway and director of the Alliance said.

"It is clear that the State is not taking this crime seriously."

Mr McCambridge said the Alliance’s 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,” he said.

Peter Boland, Director of the Alliance said it has been four years since the Cost of Insurance Working Group first addressed this issue and An Garda Síochána committed to a division-led approach in 2019. 

“As a matter of urgency, the Government must ensure the immediate establishment of 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,” he concluded.

The Irish SME Association (ISME), which represents more than 10,000 small and medium-sized businesses in Ireland said the striking out of the fraud case represented "a serious failure in the administration of justice."

A state solicitor informed the Court that the book of evidence was not ready because statements were awaited from MIBI and this had been delayed because of the pandemic.

The failure to produce a book of evidence in this case is a shambolic disgrace and @HMcEntee should seek a report on the matter asap.#MIBI and @insurance_irl @RobertTroyTD @LeoVaradkar @InsuranceRefIre @DeptJusticeIRL @EU_Justice @eurireland https://t.co/hzCY7HnSRU

— ISME (@isme_ie) January 7, 2021

"This was a landmark case," ISME CEO Neil McDonnell said, "the reported failure of the MIBI in the production of a book of evidence in good time is unacceptable."

"Their failure should be investigated by the Minister for Justice or the Minister for Finance and parties identified within MIBI who are complicit in this failure must be held to account."