Staged fright

'Organised motor fraud' is a term that has been in use for several years, especially since the creation of the Insurance Fraud Bureau, but has fighting this crime in the public eye helped or hindered the cause? Sarah Hills highlights how fraudsters are acting against both innocent people and the insurance industry

Fraud has always been notoriously difficult to determine and quantify - all that is certain is that it is costing the insurance industry millions of pounds a year.

In personal lines, the Association of British Insurers estimates that organised motor fraud costs the industry more than £200m in insurance per year and has increased motor premiums by around 5%. In addition, the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) believes that, at the current rate of growth, a further 20,000 fraudulent crashes will take