Almost 3,000 reported to insurance fraud hotline

Almost 3,000 people have been reported by members of the public to an insurance fraud hotline, new figures reveal today.

The Irish Insurance Federation (IIF) said 2,837 cases were passed on to it by members of the public via its Insurance Confidential phone line since it was set up three years ago.

IIF's chief Michael Kemp fraud had been uncovered "across all major lines of insurance business" because of its anti-fraud campaign.

"As a result of this campaign on fraud, consumers are benefiting directly in the form of cheaper premiums," he added.

"Without the success of this campaign and especially the help of the public who have reported suspected fraud to the hotline, we would not be able to put so much money back in our policyholders' pockets."

In one case of organised fraud cited by the IIF, 15 people were convicted and jailed for staging up to 90 motor accidents in the mid-1990s in the midlands. The 15 included company directors, a garage proprietor, a garda, a large farmer and a car salesman, according to the IIF.