£150k claim involving falsified documents sees Allianz obtain fundamentally dishonest court ruling
![False documentation at heart of dishonesty claim False-documentation-at-heart-of-dishonesty-claim](https://youtalk-insurance.com/sites/default/files/styles/news_item_twitter/public/fraud-detection-board-picture-id1010019532_1.jpg?itok=kxGyKR_q)
False documentation at heart of dishonesty claim
A minor accident at a petrol station in 2017 turned into £150,000 personal injury claim resulting in a court case in 2023.
In 2017 an Allianz customer reversed from a closed pump at a petrol station and hit a third-party vehicle, causing minor damage. Allianz accepted liability and repaired the vehicle.
Six months later, Allianz received a claim for personal injury from the third party, Mr Pritesh Ganatra from Northampton, for neck, mid and lower back injuries along with loss of earnings, travel expenses, physiotherapy and legal costs. After referral to Allianz’s claims validation team it was declined as a dishonest claim.
Court proceedings were then issued from Mr Ganatra where he claimed over £93,000 in loss of earnings. Despite Allianz stating that the claim was fraudulent and at odds with the damage caused to the vehicle, Mr Ganatra produced documents in support of his loss of earnings claim. Allianz believed the documents to be fabricated and instructed their solicitors, Keoghs, to investigate and defend the claim.
As part of the investigations Keoghs obtained a Court Order for the extensive disclosure of documents relevant to the loss of earnings claim. The documents in both Allianz and Keoghs view supported the fact that the loss of earnings claim was false.
Both the driver and Mr Ganatra gave evidence at Northampton County Court in October 2023, where the court found Mr Ganatra was not injured in the low-speed collision and that the documents used for his loss of earnings claim were falsified.
Ruling that the claim was fundamentally dishonest, the claimant was ordered to pay an initial £20,000 towards Allianz legal costs with the outstanding costs to be agreed in due course.
James Burge, head of counter fraud, Allianz Commercial said: “We’ve seen an increase in fundamental dishonesty findings, with fraudsters exaggerating events for financial gain. This case demonstrates the continued work of the teams across Allianz and Keoghs and the zero-tolerance approach that Allianz takes.”
Nigel Parker, Associate Solicitor at Keoghs LLP added: “All too often claims of this nature are successful. It is critically important that these type of claims are fully investigated and that claimants learn that they cannot lie and get paid out. This is a fantastic result for Allianz and Keoghs and shows the benefit of working together to get the right result”.
Authored by Allianz
About Allianz
Allianz Insurance is one of the largest general insurers in the UK and part of the Allianz Group, a leading integrated financial services provider and the largest property and casualty insurer in the world.
The mission of Allianz Insurance is to be the outstanding competitor in our chosen markets by delivering products and services that our clients recommend, being a great company to work for and achieving the best combination of profit and growth. We aim to achieve this by putting the customer at the heart of everything we do.
Allianz is able to offer customers a wide range of products and services including home and motor and commercial insurance with full range of products and service for sole traders' right up to large commercial organisations.
Allianz Insurance employs over 4,500 people across a network of 20 offices in the UK and the company’s Head Office is situated in Guildford, Surrey. Our heritage and financial strength help make Allianz what it is today; a safe and trusted partner. Over 40 FTSE100 companies partner with Allianz. youTalk-insurance sharing Allianz Insurance news and video