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'Name and shame' anti-fraud hotline could save £millions
INSURANCE company Zurich Municipal is promoting a national telephone hotline to stamp out the growing problem of fraudulent claims. It is encouraging local authorities and other public sector bodies to run the fraud name and shame line in a move to save council tax payers an estimated £1 billion each year. Twenty local authorities have already subscribed and Zurich Municipal has a number of other interested customers lining up to use the service.
Members of the public can call the free hotline, anonymously, 24 hours a day, seven days a week to report any suspicious claims they may be aware of, even if they don't know the local authority involved.
The service is designed to stop fraudulent claims slipping through the net and to act as a deterrent to would be fraudsters and thus saving councils and taxpayers' money. The prevention of just one fraudulent claim means the service will pay for itself many times over as the payment of fraudulent or exaggerated claims can reach millions of pounds.
According to Steve Jackson, Zurich Municipal's new National Fraud Controller:-
"Fraud is a crime and spurious claims are a serious issue which affect everyone. We are calling on the community spirit of local people to report claims they know are dubious or fraudulent. At the end of the day it will save them money. Each time local authorities are forced to investigate and pay for a bogus claim, money is being diverted away from vital front line services affecting the whole local community as a result. Local authorities are showing they are not soft targets."
The hotline, conceived and run by Cunningham Lindsey, a leading independent insurance claims management and loss adjusting services company, is endorsed by Zurich Municipal. It is promoted through a campaign of posters displayed in public buildings, and flyers distributed throughout the community. The paosters are calling for members of the public to report any suspicious activity or claims. Details of any suspected fraudulent claims are passed to the relevant local authority, Zurich Municipal or the police to consider. If the report can be validated, further investigations are made.
The whistle blowing service is available to all local authorities and many are starting to adopt the hotline. According to Geoff Pilmoor, Claims Manager at Wrexham County Borough Council in North Wales:- "Since we started using the fraud hotline three months ago, there has been a 25% drop in the number of public liability claims compared to this time last year. The initiative has been advertised extensively and these results indicate that it is a major contributor to acting as a deterrent to potential fraudsters."
Although local authorities are insured, they are forced to pay higher excesses and premiums because of mounting cost of managing claims. The cost of most claims is met at the expense of front line services and pushes up the cost of council tax. The result is that honest members of the public facing higher council tax bills or cuts in services.
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Southport man gets MBE
BOB HEPWORTH from Southport was awarded an MBE by the Queen in the New Years Honours list. In the late 1980's the town suffered 26,000 redundancies in a period of two years resulting in high unemployment. Bob, aged 52, is Director of Urban Regeneration and Housing at St. Helens Council and it has been his job to help rebuild the area. For the past 23 years, he has been devoted to the economic regeneration of St Helens. Bob helped to form the country's first ever public and private sector consortium Ravenhead Renaissance, to transform a large area near the town centre from industrial wasteland into a thriving economic centre. Bob's drive and vision means he is also actively involved in wider sub regional regeneration initiatives. His commitment and enthusiasm has helped to steer St. Helens away from a legacy of declining coal, glass and chemical industries. Solid economic regeneration polices led to St. Helens being singled out as one of only four councils nationally to develop a City Growth Strategy. Says Chief Executive, Carole Hudson:-
"I am absolutely delighted. As a result of his skills, St. Helens has established a national reputation of having a first class track record of delivering regeneration schemes and adopting pioneering economic initiatives."
Says Bob:- "While absolutely delighted to receive this honour, much of it is down to a dedicated private and public sector team working incredibly hard to achieve successful regeneration projects and putting the best interests of the town and its residents and businesses first."
Added Mrs. Hudson:- "As a result of his work, St. Helens has created a physical and business environment that supports and encourages economic development. This is a well deserved
honour."
Bogus
Plea For Help
EMAILS have
started to go out saying they are from victims in the Asian Tsunami
earthquake. The emails say that the ender is a family
or a businessman who needs support. They give a bank
account and ask for a donation to help them rebuild their
lives. If you get one of the emails, please take them in
to the Police. o far senders have mainly targeted Us business,
but the bogus emails have started hitting the
UK. If you do
want to donate and you live in the UK the real way to help is via www.dec.org.uk.
do not send to individuals, unless you know them.
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