Fraudster crackdown pays off for motorists

A CRACKDOWN on fraudsters is paying dividends for motorists.

The body that pays out when motorists are involved in accidents with drivers who either have no insurance or leave the scene has said it is now receiving fewer false claims.

The Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) credits its fightback against fraudsters for the reduction.

It reported that in the first seven months of the year there was an 8pc fall in claims.

Between January and last month, the MIBI received a total of 1,572 claims – a drop of 144 when compared to the same period in 2017. In the first seven months of the year, it received fewer claims from 18 of the State’s 26 counties.

Last year, it put a plan in place to make it difficult for fraudulent claims to succeed.

The MIBI committed to allocating more internal resources to probing suspicious claims and now links up more often with gardaí to investigate questionable claims.

It is also legally contesting dodgy claims and bringing them to trial to be scrutinised by the full power of the courts.

The MIBI’s chief executive, David Fitzgerald, said it was positive for motorists to see that the number of claims was now starting to fall.

“Admittedly, these figures represent only a snapshot in time,” he said.

“However, considering that these statistics cover over half a year’s worth of data, they are a useful barometer of the general MIBI claims environment and this shows a noteworthy drop in claims.”