Claims Management & Adjusting managing director Philip Swift (pictured) has called out the absurdity of a particular type of insurance fraud.
“Retrospectively getting cover, or ‘forward-dating’ the event, is a common con, but this one was absurd, seemingly designed to fool the police he had purchased cover that very same day,” said the former police detective, who was referring to Octavian Radu’s move to obtain an insurance policy over the phone just minutes after crashing an Audi A4 into a house in Drayton.
“This immediately set alarm bells ringing, and prompt notification by our client enabled us to verify key facts while the shocking incident was still fresh in the memory of locals.”
It was noted that the Uber Eats delivery driver contacted an insurance company while the uninsured car was still half-wedged in the damaged property. Admitting use of the vehicle without valid coverage, Radu was found guilty of driving without due care and attention by Oxford Magistrates’ Court earlier this month.
Receiving eight penalty points on his driving licence, the erring motorist was fined £400 and is obligated to pay £1,400 in compensation and £340 in costs and surcharges.
“[This was] one of the most blatant attempted deceptions I’ve seen in all my years as a motor insurance fraud investigator,” added Swift, whose camp specialises in the management, investigation, and resolution of vehicle-related insurance claims. The loss adjusting business has been trading since 1994.
