Black Box Stops Insurance Fraudster in His Tracks

A fast food delivery driver from Merseyside concealed his true occupation and fraudulently purchased black box insurance coverage, courtesy of Coverbox, failing to take heed of the fact that the insurer did not cover delivery drivers.

Early on a Wednesday morning, an alert was recorded on the Coverbox blackbox, and the policyholder was contacted to provide details of the accident.  The driver confirmed that there had been an accident, and reported the claim.

One benefit of having a blackbox insured vehicle is the fact that insurers are able to use the data to analyse the incident and verify if the details are as claimed. Although this driver wasn’t lying about the accident itself, he was engaging in soft fraud and had lied about his vocation, telling his insurer that he worked in telesales.

Black box data showed that the driver had been driving in a way that was consistent with the driving habits of delivery drivers, and had been making deliveries for at least two weeks prior to the incident. A further investigation showed that the driver had been making deliveries since the start of his policy.

Coverbox has since issued a notice of cancellation to the fraudster with the full premium charged. Yet the consequences of the fraud did not end there. The third party driver involved in the incident submitted a personal injury claim, and the insurer was exposed to what was potentially five further personal injury claims from the occupants of the third-party vehicle.

Five personal injury claims could run into tens of thousands of pounds. The insurer is now looking to redirect the claim to the insurance provider covering the fast food company, as the driver started the journey in question from the fast food restaurant he worked at.

The data saved the day in this instance, as Coverbox were able to act quickly and mitigate any potential loss, as well as prevent a fraud claimant from having access to cover, and driving up the costs for honest road users.

Howard Collinge, Director at Coverbox, commented, “Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for people to try and save money by misrepresenting their personal details to their insurer. These falsifications can eventually hike up the premiums for genuine policyholders living in the same areas when, for example, fraudulent claims are made. Coverbox are committed to making insurance premiums fairer, and cheaper for everyone”.