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06 August 2021 / Veronica Cowan
Issue: 7944 / Categories: Features , Profession
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Online insurance fraud—role of lawyers

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Veronica Cowan reports on lawyers who turn detective to investigate fraud claims
  • Online processing of insurance claims has increased the scope for fraud.
  • Law firms are playing a role in fraud investigation.

As more insurance claims are dealt with online, the scope for fraud must surely increase. For example, a motor claimant involved in a smash and crash type claim must find it easier to file a false image of car damage or of the terrain of a supposed crash with a web cam than with original documentation. And it’s not just motor vehicles, as household and business premises’ fire and flood claims can be fabricated in several creative ways. And that’s before one even considers complex commercial insurance scams. Is there a role for law firms to investigate some of the trickier claims on behalf of insurers, and have they got sufficient technological know-how to perform that role?

Loss adjusting

Traditionally, loss adjusters are appointed by insurance companies to investigate claims. Depending on the size and type of claim, they might carry out a site visit, get the policyholder’s

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NEWS
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
The government’s plan to curb jury trials has sparked ‘jury furore’. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke, partner at Hill Dickinson, says the rationale is ‘grossly inadequate’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
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