Insurers are using car telematics boxes to catch fraudsters making bogus claims. The boxes measure how you brake and accelerate to work out an insurance premium based your safety as a driver. But they can also be used to thwart scammers. In one case, two drivers claimed their cars were badly damaged in an accident. Insurers are using car telematics boxes to catch fraudsters making bogus claims But one driver’s insurer, insurethebox, found the crash was not as severe after studying telematics data. The initial accident reports provided by the claimant – a driver of a BMW M Sport – appeared to match the data indicated by the telematics device in the other car involved in the collision. However, investigations began when the severity of damage to the luxury German car didn't match-up to the records provided by the black box fitted to the other vehicle, a Hyundai Coupe. In fact, further examination of the telematics data identified crash alerts after the accident had allegedly taken place, suggesting the insurethebox policyholder’s Hyundai had been used to increase the scale of damage to the BMW at a later time. Further damage was found to be caused to the BMW by blows with a hammer Closer inspection revealed that the BMW had been subjected to a series of additional collisions using the Hyundai in a separate location after the accident, and forensic investigations also identified that the German motor had been hit at least five times with a hammer in an attempt to increase the value of the claim. A judge concluded that the claim was fraudulent and that the claimant was clearly a conspirator in that fraud. A judge concluded that the claim was fraudulent and that the claimant was clearly a conspirator in that fraud The insurethebox policyholder did not attend court but the judge accepted her written evidence as it was corroborated by both the telematics and the engineering evidence, both of which he readily accepted. Both drivers admitted fraud and were ordered to pay £70,000 to insurethebox. Adrian Steele, group claims director for insurethebox said: 'It is quite unusual for a judge to accept written evidence which has not been tested in cross-examination but the telematics and engineering evidence clearly verified the policyholder’s written confession and that was satisfactory for the judge. 'This case once again demonstrates the role telematics data is playing in our claims investigations, providing a valuable piece in the jigsaw when we are working to understand the full picture of a claim. 'It also underlines the claims expertise we have in our business, bringing together disparate pieces of information to see where anomalies are occurring which give rise to deeper investigation.' p.thomas@dailymail.co.uk Some links in this article may be affiliate links. If you click on them we may earn a small commission. That helps us fund This Is Money, and keep it free to use. We do not write articles to promote products. We do not allow any commercial relationship to affect our editorial independence.
Insurance companies are using telematics devices similar to the "black box" data recorders in aeroplanes to collect data about claimants and detect fraud. The devices record information about braking and acceleration, which can be used by insurers to determine how safely a car is driven and calculate appropriate premiums. But they have been criticised for being too intrusive. A policyholder was found guilty alongside another driver of falsifying damage to their vehicles after telematics data from the collision failed to match their account of a crash.