Car insurance experts warn that more than 75% of crash-for-cash fraud cases and insurance scams involve staged or induced collisions, moving to more aggressive techniques than small scrapes designed to pressure victims into immediate payments or inflated claims, risking drivers’ health and financial well-being.
The main scams on the road
- Crash-for-cash
Crash-for-cash scams are one of the most prominent car insurance scams in the UK, and over five years, staged crashes amounted to more than £25.3 million.
Fraudsters will cause or stage a collision, making the other driver appear responsible, with tactics including sudden braking or deliberately driving into another driver. The fraudster will then often demand the innocent driver hand over money on the roadside to cover the damage or make a claim on their insurance.
This can lead to personal injury, vehicle damage, aggressive confrontations, coerced direct payments, loss of no-claims bonus, higher premiums, and excess payments.
Sten Saar, CEO of Zego, reveals the warning signs:
Some key signs that may suggest a fraudster is about to commit a crash-for-cash scam include cars in front of you travelling too slowly or travelling at erratic speeds with sudden braking even if there is no traffic or hazard ahead. Or they may pull out in front of you at a junction or roundabout before suddenly braking.
If you are involved in a collision, keep an eye out for the other driver attempting to discourage you from contacting your insurer or the police, or offering to settle the damage with cash at the roadside.
Another key sign is if the damage looks inconsistent with the collision, for example, damage that doesn’t match the direction or severity of the impact.
- Wing-mirror scams
Fraudsters often turn to wing-mirror scams, where they deliberately make it appear that someone has clipped their wing mirror, often by throwing something at another car to create a fake impact sound, before flagging the driver down to show them damage that occurred before the event.
The scam can leave innocent drivers feeling pressured into paying cash at the roadside or going through insurance and facing a loss of their no-claims bonus, higher premiums, and excess payments.
- Fake accidents
Fake accidents are another, more extreme version of a crash-for-cash scam, but instead, the collision never happened at all; fraudsters will submit claims as if it did.
Victims will have had their personal details exposed, and endless administrative headaches where disputes will need to be raised, and they can potentially face higher premiums.
- Inflated damage claims
An accident may be genuine, but sometimes fraudsters or dishonest drivers may inflate the value of repairs, or claim for already existing damage not caused by the accident.
This can lead to drivers potentially paying higher premiums, or suffering disputes over liability and damages.
Ghost broker scams
Ghost broking cases have surged by 22% from 2023 to 2025, with victims losing around £2,000 on average when buying fake insurance. With the rise of advanced tech, we are seeing that around half (49%) of young drivers have purchased insurance through social media, yet 4 in 10 (39%) are unconfident in spotting the signs of a fake policy.
Ghost brokers pose as legitimate insurance sellers, but sell fake or invalid motor policies, often through social media. Victims will believe they are insured but are paying for a policy that simply doesn’t exist. Many won’t know they have purchased fake insurance until it’s too late and they need to claim or are even stopped by the police.
Victims will face lost money for counterfeit cover, being uninsured, vehicle seizures, fines and driving penalties, as well as no cover when they need to claim. Personal details and financial information will also be exposed to scammers, which could lead to more financial loss or even data being sold on.
How to avoid common car insurance scams
Collision scams
- Maintain a safe distance between you and the vehicles around you to ensure you can brake in time.
- Install a dashcam with clear timestamps to protect yourself from collision scams, so you can provide evidence if a collision occurs.
- You only need to provide your name, address, vehicle registration and insurance details in the case of a collision; do not provide any further details or allow other drivers’ access to your licence.
- Do not pay cash or give out your bank details at the roadside.
- Contact your insurer immediately if you are involved in a collision to provide them with the accurate details that are front of mind; this removes the ability for fraudsters to bend the truth or for you to misremember information.
- Take notes of all relevant information if you are involved in an incident, including the driver, passengers, and any other information. Take photos of the scene if you can.
Ghost broker scams
- Be wary of offers that sound too good to be true; often they are.
- Avoid any offers available through social media and not through the provider’s official website.
- Use the FCA Firm Checker to confirm the firm is authorised.
- Report any suspicions to the police and the IFB’s Cheatline on 0800 422 042.
Sten Saar, CEO of Zego Insurance, comments:
With insurance scams becoming incredibly common, it is pivotal that drivers are aware of the methods used. Even if you think that it could never happen to you, it can.
Staying vigilant on the road is the first step to avoiding collision scams, and ensuring you are protected with dashcams can be vital if you are involved in an incident.
With insurance scams, knowledge is the biggest deterrent, knowing how to check the authenticity of brokers, not going for the cheapest deal regardless of not knowing anything about the provider and avoiding too good to be true offers is key.
A press release by Zego car insurance
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