With cost-of-living increases, theft, and crime in general on the rise, ‘Crash for Cash’ is a common insurance scam that sees fraudsters deliberately cause road traffic collisions, often involving innocent people, to try and get compensation.
Installing connected cameras in your business vehicles could help companies develop better practices by recording incidents as and when they happen. This helps both to improve driver behaviour and to protect employees from harm, while also serving the wider public and other road users.
‘Crash for Cash’ scams often involve staged accidents or sudden braking to cause rear-end collisions. With a dash cam, you can capture the actions of the fraudsters, their behaviour, and their licence plate numbers, making it easier to identify them. This information may be shared with the police and insurance companies to initiate appropriate legal action.
Recognising a driver’s responsibility for their actions is important and is reinforced by in-vehicle recording. This can help businesses and employees focus on instilling good driving behaviour and addressing issues for their mutual protection and ongoing coaching and training. There are so many reasons why a dash cam is an effective tool for protecting you from crash-for-cash scams.
Here’s how dash cams can help:
1. Record dangerous drivers: In the event of an accident, the recorded video could serve as crucial evidence to prove your innocence. It captures the sequence of events, the actions of other drivers involved, and the conditions on the road.
2. Protect yourself in case of an accident: Dash cams can capture details of an accident, such as date, time, location, speed, and direction of travel during an accident. This could be crucial for insurance claims and legal proceedings. The footage may help determine the actions of the parties involved. With clear evidence, you could prove the false claims made against you. It provides an unbiased account of the incident, reducing the chances of being wrongfully held responsible.
3. Record the vehicle licence plate: Dash cams can capture the licence plate numbers of other vehicles involved in an accident. This information is vital for identifying the responsible parties and preventing scammers from fleeing the scene. It helps law enforcement agencies and insurance companies track down fraudulent individuals.
4. Deterrent: The presence of a dash cam could act as a deterrent to potential scammers. Scammers are less likely to target a vehicle with a visible recording device and may think twice about attempting a crash for cash if they know they are being recorded.
5. Evidence for filing insurance claims: Some insurance providers offer discounts to policyholders who use a dash cam, as it provides compelling evidence to support your version of events and demonstrates to your insurer that you are proactive in protecting your vehicle. The discount offered to drivers encourages them to install dash cams, as it provides an added layer of protection against fraudulent claims.
6. Protect yourself from fraud: If scammers attempt to stage an accident by abruptly stopping in front of you or engaging in other deceptive tactics, the dash cam can record these actions, revealing their fraudulent behaviour.
To maximise the effectiveness of your dash cam for protection against ‘crash for cash scams’, consider the following tips:
- Install a high-quality dash cam with good video resolution and wide-angle coverage.
- Make sure the dash cam is properly positioned and aligned for optimal coverage of the road and potential impact areas.
- Regularly check the functionality of your dash cam to ensure it is recording correctly.
- Familiarise yourself with the features and settings of your dash cam, including how to lock and save important footage.
- Inform your insurance company that you have a dash cam installed. This can help streamline the claims process and provide you with any potential benefits or discounts.
Installing fully integrated or retrofitted technologies within vehicles can help drivers and businesses operate more safely and effectively. They also enable compliance with increasingly strict regulations that govern commercial road users. While safety alone should perhaps be a sufficient reason for fitting multi-camera systems to commercial vehicles, it is also important to recognise that investing in a fleet camera solution can also produce ongoing savings and returns.
Within our dedicated Fleet Services Department, we offer a range of solutions that help manage risk across your commercial fleet. Our camera solutions can range from simple dashcams to FORS (fleet operations recognition scheme) compliant 360-degree DVR kits. With AI technology, internal cameras can even identify if a driver is tired or distracted, effectively managing risk even before an incident can occur.
If you would like to know more about how our solutions can help your fleet, contact our Fleet Services Department on 01743 770520 or email fleetservices@1stchoiceinsurance.co.uk.
To learn more about other solutions we provide, visit https://www.1stchoiceinsurance.co.uk/fleet-services/
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