Aviva apology after crash victims’ details sold

ONE of Britain’s biggest insurers has apologised to thousands of customers after their details were sold to ‘cash for crash’ firms.

The scandal emerged after Aviva clients complained about being bombarded with up to ten calls a day, trying to persuade them to make a personal injury claim.

The latest incident reveals the lengths to which claims management firms will go to cash in on the misery of road accident victims. They can make millions from pursuing claims for personal injury, such as whiplash, and organising vehicle repairs and hire cars, which are often charged at rip-off fee levels.

This means they are prepared to pay large sums of money for information on customers, often targeting insurance company employees. The practice is driving up the cost of insurance for millions of honest motorists; for example, whiplash claims add an estimated £93 to the average annual premium. One Aviva customer from West Lothian, whose empty car was hit by another driver in late 2013, complained of being plagued with up to ten calls a day from ‘ambulance-chasers’ trying to persuade her to make a personal injury claim.

To stop being harassed, she was eventually forced to change both her landline and mobile numbers. Aviva has alerted the Financial Conduct Authority and the Information Commissioner’s Office, which regulates the privacy of people’s personal data.

An Aviva spokesman said: ‘We began an internal investigation, identified a now former employee who accessed these details, dismissed the employee and wrote to the customers who may have had their accident details passed on to a third party by the employee.’