Thursday, 21 July 2016

Supreme court ruling 'A blow for honest customers'

Responding to a Supreme Court ruling regarding insurance claims, James Dalton, director of general insurance policy at the Association of British Insurers (ABI), said, ‘Today’s Supreme Court decision could be a blow for honest customers. Allowing ‘collateral lies’ in the course of an insurance claim flies in the face of the work that the insurance industry and Government have been doing to crack down on the cheats and fraudsters.

‘This decision risks pushing up the cost of insurance and prolonging the pay-out process for the vast majority of people who are honest customers. As the dissenting judge, Lord Mance said, allowing lies will ‘distort the claims process by the time and cost involved in unveiling the fraud and attempting to ascertain its true implications’.

‘Lies are lies. Insurers will investigate all suspicious claims and we make no apology for doing so as it keeps premiums down for honest customers.’

In an earlier statement, James Dalton said, ‘The industry will study this judgment carefully. Insurers are in the business of paying all genuine claims, and have a duty to their honest customers to investigate suspected fraudulent claims. No insurer will decline any claim on the grounds of fraud unless they believe they have good grounds to do so. But as this judgment makes clear, inflating the value of an otherwise genuine claim still remains fraud. Anyone in any doubt if information is relevant to their claim should always play safe and tell their insurer.’