THE Motor Insurers’
Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) recorded an increase in
claims involving uninsured or untraced vehicles in
Donegal during the first 7 months of the year.
In total 52 claims were recorded between the start
of January and the end of July 2018, 6 up on the
same period in 2017. This represented an increase of
13% year on year.
The MIBI was established to provide compensation to
victims of road traffic accidents caused by
uninsured and unidentified vehicles.
Despite the increase for Donegal, nationally the
MIBI has recorded an 8 percent decline in claims,
with 144 fewer claims being made by the end of July
this year when compared to the same period in 2017.
The impact of the MIBI’s anti-fraud strategy has
been credited with helping to reduce the number of
claims throughout the country. This follows the 2017
introduction of a comprehensive plan by the MIBI to
make it as difficult as possible for fraudulent
claims to succeed. The strategy included measures to
put the full weight of the MIBI’s internal and
external resources behind investigating suspicious
claims, working hand in hand with the Gardaí to look
into these cases as well as legally contesting such
claims and bringing them to trial to be scrutinised
by the full power of the courts.
Speaking about the figures, Chief Executive of the
MIBI, David Fitzgerald said, “It is positive to see
that the number of claims from around the country is
starting to reduce.
“According to our handlers, since we adopted our
‘Fighting Fraud’ strategy, which involves a zero
tolerance approach to fraud, there has been a
noticeable decrease in the number of claims where
the evidence does not back up the case being made.
“Fraudsters are starting to get the message that if
they want to make a fictional claim to the MIBI then
they will have to be prepared to have that claim put
through microscopic examination. Any such claims
from Donegal or any other part of the country will
be thoroughly investigated by the MIBI working in
co-operation with the Gardaí. If the evidence still
doesn’t add up, they will be brought before the
courts. The days of easy settlements for nonsense
claims are definitely over.
“The MIBI would like to make it clear that those who
have a real claim have nothing to worry about. The
MIBI has always been a pro-victims organisation and
when the claim is real and justified we support the
claimant. However, protecting victims also means
reducing fraud as much as possible." Mr. Fitzgerald
concluded. |
