Fraudulent motor insurance claims could be putting pressure on healthcare accounting, forcing GPs to work longer hours and potentially miss out on private fee-generating work.
According to insurer LV=, the NHS is losing nearly a million hours each year as doctors consult with individuals they believe are exaggerating a health condition purely to make a compensation claim.
Each month, an estimated 116,000 people pass through GPs’ doors in such consultations, taking time that could be used to meet with legitimate patients.
GPs are also losing additional time dealing with the paperwork, including communicating with law firms and claims companies, and this is time that could be better spent keeping up to date with healthcare accounting and other essential records-keeping.
In one recent incident, LV= reported that a driver they insured was involved in a minor collision when she was blinded by sunlight.
The man whose vehicle she collided with twice told LV= that he was not injured; yet 18 months later, a personal injury claims company told him he should expect £1,000 in compensation.
After fabricating whiplash injuries, a court ruled against him, and he was left to pay £5,000 in costs – an indication that insurance fraud benefits nobody, from the time-pressured doctors, to the claims companies, to both parties involved in lodging and defending a fraudulent claim.
s left to pay £5,000 in costs – an indication that insurance fraud benefits nobody, from the time-pressured doctors, to the claims companies, to both parties involved in lodging and defending a fraudulent claim.
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