'Crash for cash' hotspots revealed
Tuesday 27 April 2010 Back to Blog
Van contract hire customers may want to be extra careful when driving in Centenary Way, Trafford Park, Manchester, as the road has been identified as the UK's number one 'crash for cash' hotspot.
This is the practice whereby fraudsters attempt to create a traffic accident by slamming on their breaks in the hope another driver will crash into them and then seek to claim compensation.
Analysis by insurance company Direct Line has revealed the top ten UK roads where this is most likely to happen, with the Manchester location topping the list.
It is followed by Haslingden roundabout at Junction five on the M65 and Scotland Road roundabout off Junction 13 on the M65.
Kate Lotts, director of specialist claims at Direct Line, said: "Crash for cash scams pose a significant risk to public safety.
"As well as adding to the cost of insurance, they delay payouts on genuine claims as any reported accident at a known scam site has to undergo additional investigations."
A recent report by insurance litigation firm Keoghs found Birmingham to be the UK city where such cases of fraud are most common, with the area seeing a 158 per cent increase in the number of incidents in 2009/10 compared to the year before.