While Cobra UK Ltd fully supports the IFB working with police to bring the culprits to justice it is urging the insurance industry to tackle the issue head on with more widespread use of telematics technology to reduce premiums for all.

Cobra believes that fitting its  “Black Box” telematics technology to more vehicles will enable insurance companies to start stamping out fraudulent claims. The immediate crash data that can be made available by Cobra’s telematics devices can allow insurance companies to build up a clear picture of the circumstances of an accident, giving admissible evidence on exactly what occurred. This can reduce the cost and time of bringing the perpetrators of fraudulent claims to justice and also act as a deterrent and furthermore as a safeguard for the millions of innocent motorists who are at risk of being victims of “Crash for Cash” fraudsters.

Cobra’s in-car “Black Box” telematics technology enables an insurer to detect everything from a vehicle’s movement, speed, cornering and braking parameters, to rollover and impact events, providing trip statistics, driving behaviour analysis and incident reconstruction. Internal GPS and GSM antennae enable location, mapping and reporting, plus theft tracking when required. Downloading and analysing “Black Box” data can help to identify possible fraudulent claims quickly.

Andrew Smith, managing director at Cobra UK, said: ‘The use of telematics by insurance companies is growing rapidly as this innovative technology delivers proven, scalable and highly efficient ways for insurers to reduce risk, based on actual driver behaviour. This technology has so far successfully been used by insurers to offer young driver policies at more reasonable rates for those who are willing to have their driving behaviour monitored.  Insurers can deploy the same technology to reduce the risk of fraudulent ‘Crash for Cash’ claims across a wider section of drivers. This could reduce premiums across the board, discourage fraudulent claims and ultimately protect responsible drivers from being targeted by those who deliberately cause accidents.’

Cobra's telematics technology is currently fitted to tens of thousands of vehicles across the UK and mainland Europe. Cobra has been at the forefront of innovation in the telematics industry since the first products were launched, providing technology and integrating systems for driver based insurance packages. Cobra's telematics technology already powers The Co-Operative's highly successful “Smartbox” Young Driver Insurance.

In addition, Global Live, Cobra's real-time CCTV security monitoring system with live image streaming could be the answer in the battle against the growing incidence of fraudulent insurance claims targeting the passenger transport industry. Fraudulent claims by third parties against bus operators are costing transport operators ever spiralling amounts in increased insurance premiums, legal bills and staff time. Global Live allows coach and bus operators to protect their vehicles, passengers and drivers whilst on the move. Interior cameras monitor the driver and passenger areas 24/7, audibly and visually, to safeguard employees, passengers and assets from a wide range of high risk or problem situations. Forward and rear facing cameras can also be installed to monitor driving standards and to provide evidence in the event of an incident.

Operating companies can self monitor their vehicles or outsource to highly trained personnel at Cobra's 24-hour Secure Monitoring Centre who will download images and data where required and can keep an eye on vehicles both en route and when parked, while GPS tracking enables the pinpoint location of a vehicle at any time.