- 2 weeks ago
Rogue Claimers - Season 2 Episode 1
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Short filmTranscript
00:06insurance fraud has reached epidemic levels in the UK it's costing us more
00:10than 1.3 billion pounds every year that's almost 3.6 million pounds every
00:16day deliberate crashes bogus personal injuries even phantom pets the fraudsters
00:25are risking more and more to make a quick killing and every year it's adding
00:29around 50 pounds to your insurance bill but insurers are fighting back exposing
00:34just under 15 fake claims every hour armed with the latest fraud busting
00:39technology subject out the vehicle including covert surveillance systems
00:44sophisticated data analysis techniques and specially trained fraud investigators
00:49oh they're catching these chances red-handed instead of getting away with
00:56it even more of these fraudsters are getting caught out this is Road Claimers
01:09today an amateur detective turns the tables on scammers who've used him in a crash for cash
01:26trying it on in Turkey CCTV reveals the man throwing shapes around the pool when he claimed to be
01:33throwing up at the time the claimants were apparently bed-bound father was dancing by the pool and
01:38apparently had no symptoms whatsoever and a heartbreaking story of stolen
01:43stolen medals but is the soldier claiming to have lost the medals who he says he is
02:04around the bouts some parts of the country have lots of them and they can be tricky to maneuver slow
02:12in traffic in patient drivers
02:16these complicated spots are also used by some unscrupulous motorists who see them as the perfect cover for staged crashes
02:26they're known as crash for cash scams and legal firm DWF is well versed in the tactics used
02:32a claimant deliberately slams his brakes on in front of an innocent victim with the sole purpose to cause what
02:40they would think is a very straightforward road traffic accident so they can get some compensation
02:45and there are variations on these scams like using a third car as a decoy
02:53first the gang choose a victim then they move their two cars into position in front of the target gang
02:59car number one then slams on its brakes
03:01gang car number two reacts by braking hard resulting in a rear end shunt from the victim
03:07gang car one drives off pretending to be unaware of the crash
03:17the next case involves such a scenario at a roundabout in Bradford
03:26the insurer marker study was taken aback when one victim turned detective
03:31on scammers
03:33a policy holder entered a roundabout behind two third-party vehicles
03:38one of those vehicles undertook the other causing it to slam its brakes on
03:43our insured was unfortunately unable to stop in time and hit the rear of that third-party vehicle
03:50the other car then drove off
03:55by chance the distinguishing features of that car had been noticed by the policy holder
04:00the driver prior to the prank it was a toyota evansis and he remembered it because it had a similar
04:06registration to that of his own
04:08the policy holder and the driver of the vehicle that he hit
04:12stopped and exchanged details at the scene of the accident
04:16our policy holder became suspicious when exchanging details with the third-party driver
04:21the third-party driver
04:22began writing his own address on an envelope that he had with him
04:26but it was an address in nottingham
04:29the policy holder noticed that the letter within that envelope actually had an address for the third party in Bradford
04:38the third party became a little agitated when our insured said that he noticed the discrepancy
04:44and insisted on writing down the address in Bradford
04:48and the third party became very upset at that and ended up driving off
04:54why did the driver hit the roundabout bolt the man who bashed into him had a possible explanation
05:04he reflected upon the accident circumstances wondering if perhaps it had been a staged event rather than a fortuitous accident
05:14it did bear the hallmarks of a crash for cash scam and the policy holder wasn't keen to be due
05:19the policy holder took it upon himself to drive to the address in Bradford
05:26at which point he found that the decoy vehicle the third-party vehicle that had left the scene initially
05:32was actually parked up outside that address
05:36how about that he decided to phone his insurer to report the incident and to outline his growing concerns
05:46during that call he noticed that the other third-party vehicle actually arrived at the scene as well
05:54this was the aster driver he'd hit both this and the events is with the memorable number plate in the
06:00same street at the same time
06:02not only that it was clear the two drivers knew each other well as they chatted and laughed
06:08so it was that point that he then decided to telephone and report the matter to the police
06:16police officer emergency
06:17I'm sorry
06:17hello there I'm really sorry if I'm wasting your time
06:20I've been involved in a car accident
06:22nobody's hurt although the car accident seems to be fraudulent
06:28I've basically followed as the person home there were two vehicles involved and the entire
06:33new lanes being pulled up outside the same house
06:36they were very suspicious about their details
06:38they gave me an address in Nottingham
06:40for his address
06:42whilst he was writing on a piece of paper
06:44he had a different address on a headed piece of paper
06:47and it actually led me to an address in Bradford
06:51which both vehicles involved in the park outside
06:54right
06:54so they're actually talking to each other
06:56the policyholder gave us and the police the registration numbers of both vehicles involved
07:02and he gave us both the address in Bradford that he attended and saw these vehicles
07:07and the address in Nottingham that the third-party driver attempted to give him at the scene of the accident
07:14amazingly the investigation into a possible fraud had already begun even before any claim had been made
07:21eventually it came through from the driver
07:26he was claiming for the damage to his vehicle and associated credit hire charges
07:31he was also alleging that he suffered a whiplash type injury and was claiming for that as well
07:38the cost of his claim had we paid it would have been around £9,000 in total
07:43notice the had we paid it
07:45at that point we decided to pass the claim to DWF solicitors
07:51and we asked them to investigate the matter on our behalf
07:54because the policyholders evidence went way beyond the usual witness statement in a case like this
08:00market study wanted to be sure it would stand up in court
08:04so we got a barrister involved really early on in the case and we interviewed the policyholder about the facts
08:11so we can see how strong his evidence is
08:13the verdict strong
08:15immediately after the conference we issued proceedings against the claimant
08:21the eyewitness evidence of apparent conspiracy between the drivers of both cars involved in the incident was a real coup
08:28for DWF
08:29it's extremely rare that we would choose to issue proceedings against someone like this
08:34but because of what happened we felt that we could prove that the person driving the Astro actually deliberately caused
08:41this accident
08:43but it appeared news of the damning evidence against him hadn't reached this fraudster
08:48the claimant actually filed a counter claim alleging that this was a genuine accident and that he wanted compensating
08:57the fraudulent claimer had no shame but if DWF could identify who was at the wheel of the eventsis and
09:03link them
09:04then their defence would start to crumble
09:07and at trial the target of the scam would be able to back up his version of events with hard
09:13evidence
09:14we didn't know who the driver of the eventsis was at first
09:18but when we looked through DVLA records we found the address that it was registered to
09:25they were able to show that those two people were father and son
09:30a very cosy collusion
09:31with this new information DWF conducted a claims history search and the results were gold dust for marker studies case
09:41the address was linked to a number of other suspicious claims that were being investigated by other insurance companies
09:48so it seemed to be linked to some sort of organised fraud activity
09:53some of those previous claims actually included alleged accidents that occurred at the same roundabout that we had here
10:01the evidence played out everything fell into place like a jigsaw
10:05but the road to justice through the courts was a long and difficult one
10:10there were numerous stages to this case which involved four trials
10:14we ended up going to the High Court
10:17eventually in June 2019
10:19Lord Justice Dingman sentenced these guys to a total of 12 months in prison
10:30a custodial sentence all for the sake of a £9,000 claim
10:34but there's a reason for the stiff penalty
10:38slamming on your brakes in front of an innocent motorist is inherently dangerous
10:41and that sentence handed down by the court is a clear message that they won't tolerate this kind of behaviour
10:48the plucky target in this case managed to turn the tables and collect enough information to send these chances down
10:56in my experience this is a unique case in the sense that the decoy driver was actually identified and prosecuted
11:04in most cases we don't usually even get to find out who they were
11:08the way that he insured took matters into his own hands is extremely unusual
11:13and I've not seen it before and I'd be surprised if I see it again
11:23Later, a prisoner slips up when he chances his luck with a wet floor
11:28The CCTV evidence was absolutely compelling and we were lucky to have it
11:41Jetting off to the sun, there's excitement and anticipation
11:44The last thing anyone wants is a spanner in the works
11:49Whilst insurance can help cover financial issues, disappointment is not so easy to make up for
11:55Legal firm Horwich Farrelly is used by insurers to deal with claims
12:01However, as the following case demonstrates, investigators will exploit all resources available to get to the truth if they suspect
12:09foul play
12:10We were instructed to investigate a number of claims that were brought by a family after a stay in a
12:16hotel based in Turkey
12:22The claim forms told of the kind of holiday nightmare we all dread
12:28They'd suffered from a bout of food poisoning for a number of days because of the food and drink that
12:33they consumed in the hotel
12:36Not ideal and it sounds extremely unpleasant
12:39All of the claimants put forward claims for pretty significant symptoms
12:43The two adults claimed that they were bed bound and had soiled the bed and the children had done the
12:48same in the pool as well
12:52Because of the severity of the symptoms that the claimants were saying they suffered from, the claims were potentially worth
12:57tens of thousands of pounds
13:01Any illness like this can test your dignity, but suspicions were aroused by loose chat over cocktails
13:09During the claimants stay at the hotel and some of the guests had overheard them at the bar claiming that
13:14they were going to bring claims for compensation when they returned to the UK and had done so before in
13:19the past
13:20Holiday makers with form? Not what any hotel wants to experience
13:25The management made the staff aware of these particular claimants and made sure that all CCTV footage was stored and
13:33kept safely in the event that the claims were presented in the future
13:36Once the claim came in the insurers appointed Horwich Farrelly to look into the case
13:42Its first line of inquiry was the hotel who turned over some explosive evidence
13:47CCTV footage at the time the claimants were apparently bed bound father was dancing by the pool and apparently had
13:54no symptoms whatsoever
14:02He is clearly throwing shapes not throwing up
14:07Forget bed bound he's displaying boundless energy
14:10Hardly the actions of a man who can barely leave the bathroom
14:15And the whole family is seen leaving their room to go on a trip
14:30Perhaps it's the one the father was booking here at reception
14:35And if they were incapable of venturing out then why are they spotted returning?
14:46Whilst the evidence offered a compelling case against the claim Horwich Farrelly wanted to carry out further investigations back home
14:53So it went online
14:58We discovered that one of the claimants had actually posted on his return back to the UK to say what
15:04a fantastic holiday he had
15:05We found one post that showed the two of the claimants out
15:09One of the claimants actually had a parrot on his shoulder and apparently suffering from no ill effects whatsoever
15:18But he'd underestimated the beady eyes that are on us for much of the time
15:24We presented all of this evidence to the claimants and initially they disputed it but we were confident that we
15:29had enough to take matters further
15:31To sue them for damages and costs and to also pursue a declaration that the claimants were presenting fraudulent claims
15:39Based on the evidence presented the judge decided there was enough there for the claimants to pay around £30,000
15:46in damages and costs
15:49He also found that the claimants had brought fraudulent claims
15:54Certain types of insurance scam go in and out of fashion and this case was bang on trend
16:00At the time these claims were presented it had been reported there had been a 500% increase in holiday
16:07sickness claims
16:08So it was extremely important for us to tackle that problem
16:10The turkey twosome may not try this again
16:14Most likely they're sick as parrots that their seedy scam was spotted
16:28The United States has a very different healthcare system to ours
16:33There, millions of people rely on insurance to cover medical issues
16:38But in Rancho Mirage, California, one practice has been violating guidelines
16:45Millions of dollars have been siphoned off and some patients have endured unnecessary and substandard surgery
16:51Leading to life-changing injuries
16:53All to line the pockets of a man whose greed knew no bounds according to a judge
17:03David Morrow, a cosmetic surgeon and dermatologist, was the owner of the Morrow Institute
17:08A successful doctor, he owned multiple million dollar homes
17:14Funding this luxurious lifestyle came at the expense of his patients
17:19Who he pressured to undergo procedures and treatments they didn't need
17:23So they could be billed to insurance
17:28Over five years, Dr Morrow claimed millions of dollars for procedures he certified as medically necessary
17:35But in reality, what had been carried out were cosmetic procedures like tummy tucks and nose jobs
17:46He doctored medical records to hide the cosmetic nature of the procedures by handwriting over the original text
17:54Here, the words umbilical and ventral hernias have covered the original text which said abdominoplasty
18:03These procedures would have received a medical insurance payout, but the abdominoplasty, which is a tummy tuck, would not
18:12He also tampered with documents, inserting black white boxes to conceal the cosmetic procedures he was billing
18:21Morrow blatantly used his clients, faking testimonials
18:27This was rejected outright by the angry patient
18:35Ten patients suffered injury as a result of Morrow's offences
18:40Some were actually disfigured and some had procedures performed without them giving consent
18:47One woman was not told prior to surgery that she was to have a piece of cartilage removed from her
18:52ear to her nose
18:55Now, she can no longer blow her nose normally
19:00Another victim was left with a virus which left a hole in her stomach which took four months to recover
19:07A man had to go back into the Morrow Institute to have his nose flap glued back on
19:14Morrow's was an abuse of trust on a massive scale
19:19At least seven insurance companies were affected by the sheer scale of Morrow's actions
19:26Morrow and the Institute submitted more than $80 million of claims
19:30And insurance companies made payouts of more than $20 million to him and the clinic
19:37The doctor also failed to report more than $1.5 million on his tax returns
19:43But his spree was not to last
19:50His criminal activity spanned from at least 2007 until March 2011
19:56When there was a search of his premises and hard drives by the FBI and the California Department of Insurance
20:03This led to a five-year investigation
20:06Ninety witnesses were interviewed
20:11Morrow pleaded guilty in March 2016
20:14But instead of facing the music, he fled the country in spring 2017
20:20Before he disappeared, he managed to sell his Beverly Hills home for more than $9.5 million and concealed the
20:28sale
20:29In his absence, he was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment
20:33He's since been discovered in Israel and has been extradited to the United States
20:38Where he's now serving his sentence
20:41The judge said he showed an utter disregard for patience, well-being and safety
20:47Victim Michelle Bee put it best in her written victim impact statement to the court
20:52David Morrow is a money hungry, pride-filled, unprincipled man
20:58With no concern for the welfare of other human beings
21:01And has taken advantage of hundreds of women
21:04In his singular goal of gaining wealth
21:09For the victims, it's likely no punishment could go far enough
21:12But David Morrow's medical license has been revoked
21:17They'll be relieved he could no longer practice
21:28Still to come, fur flies as a woman claiming she's had her pedigree cat stolen is caught out
21:35Yes, now she has been
21:36So why would you put it on Facebook that she's been found?
21:48Burglars will seek out trinkets, watches and rings
21:53Gifts or bequests from loved ones that hold sentimental value could be lost forever
21:58LMG jewellery is brought in by insurance companies to manage claims including valuables
22:04The following case involves some items that were literally fought for
22:09An ex-soldier was targeted by thieves just before Christmas
22:13But his honour was questionable
22:16The customer advised us that he'd suffered a burglary one evening between 6pm and midnight
22:20Whilst he was out at an army reunion
22:22There was a break into the rear of the property where a large quantity of jewellery, his army medals, clothes
22:28and cash were stolen
22:29We've been appointed to take some details on the claims
22:32Yes, go on
22:33The first item we've got is these sort of 7 or 8 medals that have been taken from you
22:39Yeah, yeah, my little medals, yeah
22:42Were they inherited or did you buy them?
22:44No, no, I bought them for myself, I have
22:48Were there any particular medals, any specific ones there?
22:52Yeah, Golden Island, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, Afghan, Jubilee, two Jubilees
23:01So those were all service medals, were they?
23:04Yeah
23:05This was a man who'd seen some action
23:08And he must have been gutted his awards for bravery had been taken
23:12These, along with the other items, made this a significant claim
23:15The claims we deal with, burglaries on average are around £15,000 per claim
23:21So this one, £40,000 minimum, this was a high value claim
23:26The burglary had been reported to the police, and the property had been boarded up
23:32Initially there was no reason to doubt that the customer hadn't suffered a genuine burglary
23:37However, the value of the items meant that we looked into it a little bit more closely than we would
23:42do with a lower value claim
23:44We've got your Breitling watch
23:47Breitling watch, yeah
23:48Where did you buy it? Was it on eBay or...?
23:51Yes
23:52And how much did you spend on it?
23:55I bought it for about, say, five and a half
23:59And that would have been like a debit, credit card purchase, was it?
24:04Yeah
24:04Have you still got the box or any of the documents?
24:07No, I've still got the case that was in
24:13I've still got two cases, one for my car's watch and one for the Bifling watch
24:21And any sort of certificate with its number on?
24:25No, I have a certificate, no
24:26OK
24:28The ex-soldier doesn't sound like he has much to support his claim
24:34Right, then we've got your tag watch, you tag all your watch
24:37Yeah
24:37And how old is this piece? What sort of age is that?
24:41Two-year-old
24:42And did you buy that one yourself again?
24:45Yes
24:45Was that a new or a second-hand model?
24:48Second-hand that one
24:49And how much did you spend on that one?
24:523,000
24:53Was that on eBay again?
24:55Yeah
24:55Then we've got a 24-inch chain
24:59How old is this piece? What sort of age is that?
25:01That was about a year
25:06Yeah
25:06When I left the army
25:09The only thing I could put my money in was gold, basically
25:13That's what I did it for, see
25:14Did you buy this one on eBay as well, this one?
25:18No
25:18Cash, personal
25:20Was it a particular dealer or a friend?
25:23Dealer
25:23Yeah
25:24How much did you spend on that one?
25:26About £10,000
25:27£10,000
25:28Yeah
25:30I've got all the receipts because of all my receipts within my safe
25:33They're still in the safe, are they, and still in the receipts, yeah?
25:37Yeah, everything, yeah, my safe's gone
25:39The worst part of all, everybody's got medals
25:42Indeed, absolutely
25:46You won't get that back
25:47You won't get that back
25:48However heart-rending the story, LMG still had to check the facts
25:52When we asked further questions and saw some of the paperwork that was submitted, our suspicions were aroused
25:58Digital photos are very useful, as the data contained within them shows where and when they were taken
26:05In this case, the ex-soldier's snaps were very revealing
26:08The data on these photographs were concerning mainly because of the time they were taken
26:15When we looked at the date properties, they'd all been taken within a half an hour window in the evening
26:20of the day before the burglary
26:23Very convenient, but in LMG's experience, definitely fishy
26:28When we normally receive photographs from various occasions, they're spread over months or years from when they were taken
26:36The fact these were all taken on the same evening, raised concerns
26:41It's not something you'd normally expect to see
26:43The photographs that were sent in show the customer at home, playing games, consoles
26:48But with no obvious reason why the photo had been taken, they just looked slightly unnatural
26:53That led us to believe that they'd been staged for the purpose of submitting the claim itself
26:58Alarm bells were going off, and the file was passed on to LMG's technical department
27:03Which scrutinises claims in more detail and asks searching questions
27:09Hi, I'm at LMG Jewellery about your claim, is it alright to talk for a moment?
27:13Yeah, yeah, certainly
27:14Looking at some of these items, they're not very old
27:18For example, your Breitling, your Tag Heuer, they were both purchased from eBay
27:24Can you get us copies of the purchase details for those?
27:30I've got nothing, love
27:31I've got nothing at all, I've been trying to get everything for you
27:34But I've got nothing
27:35If you log in to eBay, you'll be able to get it from there
27:38Yeah, okay
27:40I will have a look
27:41At the moment, we won't be able to value those two items until we've seen proof of purchase
27:49The fact these had been bought online would mean they'd have to be bought using a card
27:53There'd be a statement to show transactions, even if they didn't provide detail
27:57They'd provide proof that a purchase had been made and these were never sent to us
28:02The claimant is not inspiring confidence
28:05And as the call progresses, it's clear his responses are vague to say the least
28:12The jeweller dealer that you deal with, who is that?
28:16Because you've bought quite a number of pieces off of him according to this information
28:20Yeah
28:20Is he still dealing in jewellery?
28:23No
28:23And where did he sell from?
28:27His house
28:29Okay, have you got a contact number for him?
28:32I can get it
28:33If you wouldn't mind, because we may need to speak with him about the items that he's sold to you
28:39So, when you paid for these, you paid for cash, but did you have to draw the cash out of
28:43a bank?
28:45Yeah
28:46No, I had, er, I got, er, I don't use bank for my cash
28:50But you must have money put into a bank for you to be able to draw it out?
28:55Yeah
28:56I got my account, right
28:58So you, you would be able to show the insurance company your bank statements showing cash withdrawals?
29:04Right, okay
29:05It's really just because you're saying that you, you paid like 10 grand in cash for something
29:10Yeah
29:10And you've got no, no proof
29:11Eight
29:13Ah, well you told the guy you spoke to, ten
29:17No, eight thousand it was
29:19I, I can check the phone call, so that's fine, but it, you said it was, you said it was
29:23a year ago
29:23Yeah, what it is, well I got PTSD from the army, and my head is all over the place at
29:28the moment, because of the break-in
29:33It's clear what LMG needs to check and settle this claim, but the ex-soldiers are a long way from
29:38being able to provide any of the information
29:41We were made aware of some further inconsistencies from the customer, where initially they said they had the watch boxes
29:47available for inspection
29:48Then when we spoke to them, they said that they'd also been stolen, and then later on we did actually
29:53receive them into the office
29:56When they were examined, they raised more questions
30:00The boxes themselves weren't the correct boxes for the models being claimed for
30:05They were generic watch boxes, without the foam inserts, without any supporting paperwork, which isn't unusual or fraudulent in itself
30:14But it's another indicator that something wasn't right with this claim
30:18LMG was left with little choice
30:20Looking at the claim as a whole, the inconsistencies in the descriptions, the staged photographs, the inaccurate watch boxes
30:30We felt that this claim had been purposefully staged
30:33The evidence, or lack of it, had repercussions
30:36When we heard back from the insurance company, they advised us that the claim had been declined due to the
30:40fraud condition on the policy
30:41This was an excellent outcome for the company to ensure that a fraudulent customer didn't receive any payout
30:47The soldier wasn't quids in, and he's now a marked man
30:51In similar circumstances, what happens is that the policy is voided
30:55That makes it very difficult for the customer to take out another insurance policy with a different insurer
31:01Historically, within the industry, insurance companies were happy to simply decline the non-genuine claims
31:05However, more and more, we're now beginning to see them pursuing prosecutions against fraudsters
31:18Woodhill prison in Buckinghamshire houses remand prisoners, and those on short sentences
31:24Governor Nikki Marfleet has noticed an increase in claims against the prison service
31:30Accidents do happen, and the next case features a trip with questionable authenticity
31:37A prisoner had slipped on a wet landing, received a shoulder injury, and was saying that we are negligent for
31:43that
31:46Each case costs, and so any incident is scrutinised
31:52Our council estimated that damages would be in the region of £11,000 to £16,000
31:59There was a senior officer on the wing, with four staff and 90 men on the unit
32:04At the time, the prisoner claims he was injured
32:08He was making a claim that the prison service was negligent for not putting out wet floor signs
32:12He had slipped on a wet floor, on top of the stairs, and dislocated his shoulder
32:18Oh, that sounds nasty
32:20The unlucky inmate was suffering from shock
32:22He was taken to hospital, whilst the prison officers tried to piece together what had happened
32:27There were lots of his peers that were willing to witness and say that he'd just slipped
32:33But their versions didn't tally with what staff on the wing had seen
32:38I saw a prisoner clean out his cell
32:42As he was mopping his cell, moving backwards, he spilled a bucket of water
32:47He went to get a wet floor sign, to make people aware of it
32:50The claimant came up the stairs, saw the water, he walked round the landing, and then ran back and slipped
32:58over
33:01Prisons have good coverage of what's going on through CCTV
33:06When I saw the CCTV, it was blatantly obvious that the claim was incorrect
33:09He had, I believe, done it on purpose
33:13The footage does offer a different insight into what happened
33:19He walks up the stairs
33:22He walks round to the right
33:25At that point he goes out to CCTV view
33:29And then you see him running
33:31It would appear he jumps, as if jumping over somebody, behind somebody
33:35And then he slips on the floor
33:37And that's when he got injured
33:41Clearly the inmate was hurt
33:43But staff were not convinced by his explanation
33:47He would have seen that somebody was cleaning this outside the cell
33:50He would have seen a wet floor
33:52And he avoided it, but he then went back to the area where the water was spilt
33:59In my 20 years of service, I've seen more and more of these claims come forward
34:02And that is why, as governor, I'm trying to say, where we think we have a chance of winning, we
34:08will always defend these at court
34:11But there was more going against the accident-prone inmate
34:16We also had a witness who was familiar with the layout, able to describe what would have been able to
34:21be seen and actually what he saw
34:24At the time of the slip, the claimant had a bunch of fellow prisoners willing to back up his story
34:29But where were they when he needed them?
34:33When it comes to the court case, they weren't available or weren't prepared to put evidence to corroborate his claims
34:39Their diaries must have been full
34:41Besides, perjury carries a hefty penalty
34:45At trial, we presented the CCTV, which was so compelling that the judge didn't even require our witness
34:53People underestimate at their peril how willing we are to defend these cases
34:58This is public money, this is taxpayers' money, I'm a taxpayer
35:01And our money should not be going as free cash to people that want to chance their arm at a
35:08claim
35:15Cats can be purebred, or simple moggies
35:18But they all love to curl up in their own sunny spot
35:21And they enjoy a tickle
35:24Tabbies may be independent, but it doesn't make them any less loved by their owners
35:33The following case, dealt with by pet insurance specialist Agria
35:37Reveals that even those who are fond of their fur babies
35:40Still use them to attempt ill-gotten gains
35:44The first we heard was when the policyholder contacted us on the 3rd of May
35:49And advised that she'd been burgled the day before
35:53The car keys and two cars had been stolen at the same time
35:58You weren't in the house, so it's while you were out of the house
36:00Yeah, no, no, I was in the house
36:02Oh, you were in the house?
36:03They burgled downstairs, did they?
36:05Gosh, okay
36:05Yeah
36:06It's got traumatic in itself, isn't it?
36:07Yeah
36:08Okay, so, and you think they've broken the back?
36:11The door handles were broken
36:12And obviously, both my cars were stolen
36:15And, you know, they could have bundled anything in the back of the cars
36:18I don't know
36:21This must have been very distressing
36:23Second to our homes, cars are often the most valuable things we own
36:27But some possessions go beyond monetary value
36:30One of her cats had gone missing
36:33She was obviously an avid cat owner
36:35She had 11 in total
36:37One pedigree and ten crossbreed cats, ten moggies
36:45As a specialist in animal insurance, Agria wouldn't be able to help with the car, but a missing cat was
36:51right up its alley
36:53The kitty in question, not seen since the burglary, was now missing in action
36:59The cat was an exotic short hair, pedigree cat, worth around about 900 pounds
37:08She told us that she'd obviously told the police, that the cat was missing and perhaps stolen
37:14She'd also advised a local veterinary practice, that the cat was missing, just in case somebody had picked it up
37:20She'd also gone onto social media and left some posts that her cat was missing, perhaps stolen
37:26Could people keep an eye out for it?
37:29She'd been very thorough using not only her own social media, but that of her vets to get the message
37:35out
37:36We received the completed claim form from the policy holder and on the 25th of June, we started to assess
37:42the claim
37:43I see, bless her, she was stolen when you got burbled
37:49Yes, I believe so
37:50Oh bless her, have you found her at all yet?
37:54No
37:55You haven't?
37:56No, erm, I spoke to the insurance originally and I kind of thought that she probably might have been lost
38:04Well, of the time, for now, she's probably stolen
38:10Because she went missing the same thing
38:13Not a problem
38:14As I said, I'm just trying to speak for a moment
38:16I said, please double check whether or not she has come back
38:20As in situations like this, we'll check on social media
38:23We check that the cat was posted missing
38:27But at the same time, we also noticed that the veterinary practices' social media
38:32And the policy holder's social media were saying the cat had been found
38:38So we phoned her up
38:39Erm, what I wanted to do is talk you through some Facebook pages that you advertise
38:44Yeah
38:44Erm, and on the 18th of June, they notified that it's been found?
38:49No
38:52So, she had to...
38:54That's incorrect, is it?
38:56Yeah, no, she hasn't been found, still
38:59OK
39:00Erm, so can I just refer you to your own Facebook page on the 18th of June then, at 21
39:05.38
39:05Yeah
39:06Where you say that's now been found?
39:08Yeah, no, she hasn't been found
39:10So why would you put on Facebook that she's been found?
39:14It's a perfectly reasonable question from an insurer who's trying to check the claim
39:19But the mood changes at this point
39:21Well, I don't understand what you're insinuating
39:24I'm sure a cat has not been found, she's not been found at all
39:29The reason I said that the cat was found was because I was sick of people contacting me
39:34And saying that they found a cat that looked similar
39:36And I was sick of boys and, you know, getting my hopes off and it's not being that packed
39:42Her claim that she and the vet's practice put up the found post to stop time wasters may have been
39:48well intentioned
39:49But it was cutting no weight with Agria
39:52If you're frightened or you're worried about some comeback and people making nuisances of themselves
39:58You just take the post down
40:00Taking it down, it doesn't delete it from anywhere
40:02It just, it just, it stays in the
40:05Er, you can, I mean on the road
40:08It doesn't actually because you just delete an entry
40:11So it's right, I thought that the, I didn't realise that
40:17The cat owner was struggling to get Agria on board, despite her best efforts
40:22It's not a very nice experience, you know, like I've been burgled
40:25I've talked to a lot of other stuff
40:28You know, I don't know whether it's time
40:30Yeah, I've noticed that because obviously police have put on the, you know, two vehicles and an IT equipment were
40:35stolen
40:35Yeah
40:36They obviously didn't mention the cat, so, erm
40:39No, because at the time, erm, I just wasn't aware that she'd gone missing
40:44I thought she just got frightened and, you know, that I would find her
40:48Erm, which, you know, could be the case still
40:52But I'm still, I'm still of the opinion because she looks like a posh cat that she may have been
40:57stolen
41:01Agria didn't automatically share her opinion
41:04Pedigree cats aren't always identifiable as, er, as pedigree cats
41:09It's not as obvious as, as dogs
41:11Erm, and amongst the other eleven, there were probably cats there that looked as much like pedigrees, or were as
41:18attractive to take
41:20Are you welcome to come to my house and see if the cat is there, the cat is not there?
41:25No, I mean, obviously from our concern, and, and mine particularly, is that you've mentioned
41:29Obviously you've got to look into it, but, you know, I don't think Facebook can be any kind of evidence
41:36to say, you know, that I haven't been burgled and that my cat hasn't gone missing
41:40No, we're not disputing that you haven't been burgled
41:42You give, obviously, for giving false information, and as part of your terms and conditions, we ask that people are
41:49honest
41:49But does it say any terms and conditions that you can look amongst Facebook?
41:54The fact that Agria checked her social media really touched a nerve with the cat owner
41:58Guilty conscience, perhaps
42:00It's a public domain
42:01It's not a public domain at all
42:05It is, because obviously we can see it, so
42:08And also the, erm, that is a public domain
42:11Yeah, that makes sense
42:13They are both saying that you have found the cat
42:16A few more things started not really to stack up
42:20Yeah
42:21Agria had done its homework and knew the cat's background
42:25She was bought and breathed in terms
42:27So it seemed good to get her on Agria's insurance
42:32Because they said that I could cover her if she was having kittens or anything like that
42:38Yeah, because I noticed on her history, back in February, she was diagnosed that she had a heart murmur
42:42Was that correct?
42:43Yeah
42:45The vet did say that it was quite severe, the heart murmur
42:49So, you know, she could kind of drop dead at any point
42:52Oh, bless
42:53Yeah
42:53A cat with a heart defect shouldn't be used for breeding
42:57So that's the owner's investment straight into the litter tray
43:01And, in Agria's experience, this could be a motive to place a fraudulent claim
43:07She had this valuable animal that she couldn't breed from
43:11Opportunistically, perhaps she was looking to regain some of that investment
43:15The insurer was also surprised that someone who had worked in a vet's practice wasn't more savvy
43:22Being a veterinary nurse and working in a veterinary practice, the policyholders should have known
43:26Just the efforts that pet insurance companies go to when they're assessing claims
43:31Just to validate facts
43:34And these days, social media is probably the key area where we go to first
43:39And that search threw up many more questions than answers
43:43Often as not, when things are a little untoward, policyholders trip themselves up
43:51We rejected the claim
43:53We felt the claim was spurious
43:54And the owner was endeavouring to recoup some of the purchase price of her cat
44:00And there would be further implications
44:03This cat lover was put on an insurance industry blacklist
44:07We also told the police in this case
44:09Because there had been a burglary and other things had been taken
44:12And the facts that she had given to the police may also have been called into question
44:28To be continued...
44:44To be continued...
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