BLM wins fraud case for RBS Insurance

Berrymans Lace Mawer LLP (BLM) has won a fraud case for RBS Insurance against accident management company Road Range Accident Assistance (Road Range).

Road Range, of Nelson, Lancashire, stood to gain from an exaggerated road traffic claim, according to BLM.

BLM advised RBS Insurance in the case, in which claimant Imtiaz Ahmed pursued a claim for damages following a road traffic accident in 2004.

Road Range faced a bill of costs totaling over £30,000.

BLM associate Craig Nunn, acting for RBS Insurance, said: “This successful result highlights the significant risks that accident management companies face by instigating false claims and effectively leading the litigation.

“It is an important decision for insurers across the industry who regularly face suspected bogus claims often initiated by accident management companies in the name of individual claimants.

“Credit must go to RBS Insurance for pursuing this action and ultimately sending out the message that the industry will not tolerate fraud nor will they allow fraudulent claims to pass without punishment, irrespective of the monetary value of the fraud.”

Kate Lotts, director of specialist claims at RBS Insurance, said: “This judgment sends out a clear message that insurers take the investigation of suspicious claims extremely seriously.

“This is a milestone victory against an accident management company, which has taken what was a relatively small, genuine accident and inflated the potential costs to insurers. It is this sort of fraud and exaggeration that is cheating policyholders out of millions of pounds.”