Insurance fraud probe nets up to 90 convictions

ALMOST 90 people have been convicted for insurance fraud over the past nine years — some scams involving as much as €2 million.

Specialist fraud detectives are investigating 33 cases, with some involving up to 20 suspects.

The figures emerged yesterday at the launch of revised guidelines for insurance companies on reporting suspected fraudulent claims.

“Since 1995 we have convicted 86 people for insurance fraud. The number of such cases has increased over the years. Some involve seven-figure sums,” said Detective Superintendent Eugene Gallagher of the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation (GBFI).

He said most insurance frauds involved motor insurance and personal injury claims.

Speaking at the launch, Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy said six people had been convicted in the higher courts for serious insurance fraud offences over the past two years.

“One of these is presently serving five years’ imprisonment and another is serving three years. There are also four persons awaiting trial for similar type offences.”

He said fraud investigations were by their nature challenging, complex and time-consuming for gardaí.

Commissioner Conroy said organised crime gangs and subversives had targeted insurance companies as a means of funding their organisations.

“By the use of intimidation tactics associated more in the public mind with illegal drug cartels, they have succeeded in accumulating significant wealth from spurious insurance claims.”

He said some of these criminals were considered respectable business people within their own communities.

The commissioner said the Criminal Assets Bureau had targeted these individuals and obtained judgments from the High Court in excess of €1m. Commissioner Conroy said this involved one individual.

He said gardaí also targeted smaller scams and warned such people they risked paying a very severe penalty.

The guideline document launched yesterday was produced by the Irish Insurance Federation (IIF) in conjunction with An Garda Síochána.

IIF president Paul Donaldson said insurance fraud costs insurance companies in Ireland an estimated €100m annually.

“It’s not faceless individuals which ultimately foot the bill but individual policyholders through their premiums,” he said.

He said the industry needed to guard against the emergence of international gangs targeting Irish insurance companies.

IIF chief executive Michael Kemp said an insurance confidential hotline, set up 18 months ago, had logged 2,000 cases of possible fraud.

He said 60% of cases involved personal injuries and that 60% of these were motor insurance claims.

Commissioner Conroy supported the increasing use of private investigators by insurance companies to investigate suspected scams.