Fraudulent insurance claims cost the insurance industry €100 million annually and lead to a rise in the price of individual premiums, according to the Irish Insurance Federation (IIF).
Mr Paul Donaldson, president of the IIF said, "it's not faceless institutions which ultimately foot the bill, but indivual policyholders through their premiums".
Mr Donaldson was speaking today at the launch of guidelines for the reporting of suspected fraudulent insurance claims to the Garda Siochána.
The guidelines, developed by the IIF in partnership with the Garda, are part of an action taken by the industry to close in on insurance fraudsters.
Part of the guidelines places the onus on insurance companies to familiarise themselves with collecting of evidence to make any future cases easier to prosecute. Companies are advised to broaden their claims department through the employment of experts, in many cases ex-Gardai or private investigators to help detect fraudulent claims.
The IIF has also set up "Insurance Link", an anti-fraud claims database for insurance companies allowing them to cross-reference individual claims within the industry.
Speaking at the launch, the Garda Commissioner Mr Noel Conroy, welcomed the closer working relationship between the Gardai and the IIF. "People had the mistaken conception that fraudsters are gentlemen criminals," he said. "The reality is very different."
He said that criminal gangs have been targetting the insurance industry in relation to false claims, adding that in some cases in the border region, people were being intimidated to say things against their will leading to the gangs processing their claims.
"Anywhere there is clear evidence of a crime it will be investigated, big or small," he added.
