A Nick Tilley perspective on preventing opportunistic insurance fraud
Martin Gill · 2018
This chapter discusses opportunistic insurance fraud committed against insurers. It starts by setting the context in which insurance fraud operates, and highlights some of the characteristics of this type of offence, not least that it is easy to commit, involves little risk and is often seen as justifiable. The chapter then introduces the approach which is based on interviews with a small sample of fraudsters who committed mostly opportunistic offences. It focuses on the juxtaposition of R. Pawson and Nick Tilley&s;s influential work on causal mechanisms with Ron Clarke&s;s situational crime prevention in a relatively novel context of offending. Recent initiatives to combat fraud in the UK include a Register, the first industry-wide database of those who have committed insurance frauds, and the establishment of the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED), a police unit funded by insurers and based in the City of London, dedicated to tackling insurance fraud.