FirstGroup in Insurance Fraud Awards

FirstGroup’s in-house claims handling team, Transportation Claims Ltd, has been shortlisted in the Counter Fraud Initiative of the Year category at the Post Magazine Insurance Fraud Awards 2015. It was nominated for an investigation into a series of accidents that helped saved insurance companies around £1.7m and resulted in the conviction of 15 people for fraud. The team helped uncover an elaborate fraud, which involved cars and vans deliberately colliding with the operator’s buses at low speed, so passengers (who were complicit in the scam) could falsely claim from insurers.
FirstGroup’s UK Head of Claims, Simon Robinson, said, ‘We are immensely proud of our efforts to uncover one of the largest and most serious fraud attempts we have ever encountered. The determination to fight fraud reflects our zero tolerance approach. Thanks to a collaborative approach with our partners, led by Transportation Claims, savings of more than £1.7m were generated for the insurers involved. We hope that securing 15 convictions will help to deter other would-be fraudsters.’

MD of First Bus, Giles Fearnley, said, ‘Although the staged collisions were minor, I’m horrified the safety of innocent customers and staff were put at risk in order to make false claims. Thanks to the expertise and attention to detail of our claims team, those responsible were brought to justice. I hope that the insurance industry recognises the efforts of my colleagues and awards them top prize at the Insurance Fraud Awards.’