Dodgy insurance claims on the rise

The number of dodgy insurance claims has increased significantly since the onset of the recession, pushing up the cost of insurance.

Research by LV= found around 40% of solicitors have experienced a rise in the number of spurious insurance claims.

Over half (52%) of the potentially fake claims involve car accidents.

Whiplash was the most commonly made up injury, followed by post-traumatic stress, and strained muscles.

One of the fake claims included someone making a car insurance claim even though they weren’t in the vehicle at the time of the alleged accident.

Another claimant said she had been run over by a bus when she had only fallen off the side of the curb.

The SMMT has already reported that sales are up month on month because of the scheme, which is expected to have helped secure up to 5,000 jobs in the motoring and motoring supplies industry:

Car sales up 26.4% in February

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has today announced UK car sales were up by 26.4% in February compared with the same month in 2009, boosted by the Government’s scrappage scheme.

The £400 million initiative, which was launched last May to boost the ailing car industry, pays drivers of cars at least 10 years old £2,000 off the price of a new vehicle. The £2,000 grant is made up of £1,000 from the Government and £1,000 from the carmaker.

The scheme accounted for almost one in five car sales in February. Furthermore, sales this month are likely to be strong as new registration plates are introduced in March.

The Nationwide Building Society appears especially keen to publicise it’s loan rate of 7.9% to help consumers buy a car on the government scrappage scheme, not least because this appears to be the lowest in the UK at the moment, and certainly a lot less than the APR’s you would expect to get from a car dealer:

Grab a car loan deal before the end of the scrappage scheme

Consumers looking to take advantage of the Government’s Car Scrappage Scheme will need to do so by the end of March 2010. With nearly 389,000 new vehicles purchased under the Scheme so far, there are just around 11,000 cars left for eligible consumers to make their dream purchase with a £2,000 saving1. The recent release of the new ‘10’ car registration plates may also tempt some people into making their dream purchase.

With the UK officially exiting recession, some consumers will now be feeling more confident about their spending. However, many people will need to borrow money to buy a new car and will want to get the best deal possible to finance their purchase. This means that it is just as important to shop around for the best finance options as it is for the car itself. March typically sees an increase in the number of personal loans taken out for car purchases, which is likely to be as a result of the new car registration plates being released at the same time.

It remains of interest to observers how the motoring industry in general performs from the beginning of April. The expectation is that the scrappage scheme has provided enough time for the industry to make changes as required to survive the recession, but it remains to be seen just how effective this will actually be.