Myth-Busting Insurance with DWF: Legal Edition

At DCL, we’re committed to protecting our policyholders and challenging misconceptions around insurance fraud. That’s why we teamed up with our legal partners at DWF to tackle some of the most common myths we hear in the industry. In a recent social media video, our experts sat down to bust these myths wide open, and the insights might surprise you. 

Myth 1: Fraud Prevention Is Just About Checking for Fake Injuries 

It’s easy to assume that insurance fraud is all about exaggerated or fake injuries. But as Lauren France from DWF explains: 

“Implausible injuries absolutely still exist, and that does form part of what we, at DWF and at DCL look at. But that’s certainly not the only thing that we have issues within insurance fraud. We see exaggerated vehicle damage, we see credit hire fraud, we see phantom passengers.” 

Our Claims Director, Carl Cripps, adds: 

“From a DCL point of view, that’s always the interesting part for us. We’ll have the information data washed, we think that there’s one area of concern and actually within the data wash, [DWF] will come back with numerous parts or parties that are all related. And I think that’s one of the key things for us, keeping policyholders safe.” 

Mat Lynch from DWF reinforces the complexity: 

“It could well be a fake injury, an exaggerated injury that you start looking at, but actually where you start and where you stop, completely different things.” 

Myth 2: The Claim Won’t be Fraudulent if the Claimant Works in a Trusted Occupation 

It’s tempting to believe that someone in a respected profession wouldn’t submit a fraudulent claim. But Lauren is clear: 

“In our experience, absolutely not. We do see fraudulent claims and suspected fraudulent claims from all walks of life, irrespective of their profession.” 

Carl agrees: 

“We’ll take every claimant on the basis of their claim, we’ll investigate it on that basis, and if it’s fraudulent we’ll challenge it and go from there.” 

Myth 3: Once A Claim Goes to a Solicitor, it’s Definitely Going to Court  

Not every claim that reaches a solicitor ends up in court. As Lauren explains: 

“Litigation can be a long process. There are lots of things that can happen from the start of a case being issued in court and arriving with solicitors all the way through to that trial. Some cases may discontinue; some may settle along the way well before they get to a trial.” 

Mat adds: 

“A real important aspect is that there has to be a cost-benefit analysis to it. The investigation starts when we receive papers, but it is constantly assessed. Point one is speaking with a policyholder to see how strong a witness the policyholder is. The second point, and probably the most important, is disclosure. You need to assess the evidence that the claimant has.” 

Carl highlights the role of technology: 

“One of the key things for DCL here is the dash-cam footage. A high number of our policies have dash cam footage, either Camatics, our own product, or their own. Normally on day one or two we’ve seen that evidence, and even if the driver’s not available, it doesn’t really matter as much these days because the dash-cam footage is so strong.” 

Myth 4: Courts Always Side with the Claimant Unless There’s Overwhelming Proof of Fraud 

This myth is particularly misleading. As Lauren clarifies: 

“We will have cases where we might have pleaded fundamental dishonesty or fraud, and judges might not be with us on that. But that doesn’t mean the claimant wins their case. The judge can determine that the claimant just hasn’t proven their case, whether that’s on liability, injury, vehicle damage, or credit hire.” 

Final Thoughts 

Fraud prevention is far more complex than many realise. Whether it’s identifying phantom passengers or assessing dash-cam footage, both DCL and DWF are committed to thorough investigations and protecting policyholders. By challenging these myths, we hope to raise awareness and encourage more informed conversations around insurance claims. 

Want to learn more about how we tackle fraud? Explore our resources here. 

Watch the full video here.